Darkness Comes Before The Dawn
by NazoPureChaos
Summary: Twilight Sparkle has been plagued by a nightmare with an ominous warning, and try as she might, she could not stop the warnings relayed in her nightmares from coming to pass. Now the unintentional leader of a band of survivors from the bloodiest massacre in Equestrian history, Twilight and her friends must learn to cheat death once more.
1. Night Terror

CHAPTER I

NIGHT TERROR

"_Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria..."_

Grudges are like avalanches. They begin as a result of the right circumstances at the right time, or, in this case the wrong time. Then they fester, building and building as the days and years flow on by. Nopony notices them, nopony realizes they exist, so nopony attempts to prevent them. More and more years pass, and it builds and builds, hidden from sight. Then, one day an innocuous pony comes along, unaware of the potential for disaster hiding out of sight. With a simple prod, like the falling of small stones, it comes pouring out, greater and more devastating than when it began.

Several years ago, small stones began to fall. Nopony paid any mind to them, not recognizing them for the terror they would become. Their existence and manifestation were almost cliche, given the circumstances. You can understand then why those involved dismissed them so easily. Not that the ponies of Equestria knew to look for them in the first place; back then, ponies were under the illusion of a perfect nation, ruled by princesses Celestia and Luna. It was perfect. It was beautiful. It was innocent. Equestria then was but a protected virgin to ideals forgotten by time. She was too protected. Her children knew nothing of what was to come, and when it came, it took advantage of them. Equestria was raped of its freedom, and perverted by questionable values. Virtue was obliterated, and those who still clung to any were cast out and tried as traitors. Those that gave in were nothing anymore, their soul stripped from them to be corrupted and twisted by powers unknown. When they got it back, it was no longer a piece of them, but instead something else entirely. Something made to control them, and keep them in check.

All of this took time. It did not happen at once, but over the course of the years to pass. History was forgotten then, what was known afterward written by the victors and treated as truth. They abused their power over history, and the lesser suffered for it.

The stones that started the avalanche took the form of nightmares. They recurred every night, and each night they came differently, but yet they were the same as before. It was no coincidence, as a mere few days later, the boulders began to tumble after.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

Twilight jolted upright, and her horn narrowly missed the ceiling. Her body was shaking, shivering, and her coat and mane were slick with sweat. She panted heavily, unable to cry for help. She tried to call out, but her involuntary breathing would not let her. She could not make a sound, apart from a desperate wheezing. Feeling as helpless as a foal, she cried. Tears rolled off her cheeks, and splashed against the silk sheets covering her legs. She had never felt so alone, so afraid. She was terrified, and she could not call to anyone. Nopony would know she needed help; nopony would come to comfort her if no one knew.

Still sweating profusely, she felt her breathing slow down, and in desperation she sucked in an enormous breath, her chest burning in response, and screamed the name she knew would hear her and come as loud as was physically possible. Lightheaded, Twilight curled up and waited. After a few seconds the door of her room slammed open, and she heard the flick of the light switch. Her number one assistant murmured something beyond her hearing. A reassuring, clawed hand pressed against her shoulder, and she heard more hoofsteps entering the room.

It was okay. Spike was here.

It was okay. Her friends had come to help her.

It was okay. Everything would be fine.

Rest. She needed rest. Now seemed like a good time.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

Ugh. Had anypony not heard of a peaceful sleep? Peaceful sleep! Pretty self-explanatory. Was it too much to ask for them to be quiet while she tried to rest? At least whisper for pony's sake! Their chatter drilled into her brain through her ears, digging at her with each syllable. While her eyes were closed, she could still make out a red glare from something beyond the shadows of her eyelids. What was it? It must be the light. Hello! She was trying to sleep! They could have at least done her the courtesy of leaving the room dark. Why were ponies in her room anyway? Only her friends ever came up here. What time was it?

Twilight tried to ignore the piercing speech, but to no avail. She would have to reprimand them for intruding upon her rest. The annoyed mare pushed herself up, and opened her eyes. What greeted her was an immense pounding in her head, like somepony was beating against her skull, and a flash of brilliantly bright light. She gasped in surprise, and reflexively collapsed back onto the comforting mattress, sinking into the pluff pillow. The conversation halted abruptly, and after a short pause, one mare spoke in a country drawl.

"...Twiligh', hun, you awake?" Number One inquired cautiously. A second mare snorted.

"Well, I would assume so. It may have escaped your notice, but she just jumped up, gasped, and fell back, rather gracefully. _Unless_ she was having a sporadic seizure, in which case it would be best to contact a doctor. Perhaps Nurse Redheart, she's such a sweetheart," Number Two added thoughtfully to her chastisement.

"Oh, come off it Rares, she'll be fine," scoffed a third mare, verbally rolling her eyes.

"Fine? _Fine_? Rainbow Dash! Are you so _ignorant_ as to believe she is possibly _fine_?! I knew you were thick, but honestly! Harumph!" the second voice replied.

"Pinkie, y'all been awfully quiet. What's eatin' at you?" Number One questioned a previously silent pony, before the other two could expand upon their argument.

"...This morning, when Twilight screamed... I had another doozy," the one called Pinkie said in a despairingly desolate tone.

"Not the one like a' Froggy Bottom Bog? It's just I don't fancy gettin' attacked by another hydra anytime soon. Once was enough for this mare."

"No. That one was like "Something ginormous is going down at Froggy Bottom Bog, and you need to be there!". This one was all "Something really big is about to go down. Something scary is going to happen Pinkie, something is coming and it will not be nice". It... it _really_ freaked me out," Pinkie explained. There was something about that sentence that reminded Twilight of... something. What had Pinkie said her doozy felt like? Like... something was coming...

Oh, there was no use in pretending any longer. Twilight was not going back to sleep, whether she wanted to or not. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. Five very special mares occupied the floor of her bedroom. Applejack was pacing around nervously, worry written all over her face. Rarity was lying on her side, watching Applejack anxiously. Every now and then she glanced disapprovingly at Rainbow Dash, who was leaning against a bookcase, under a pretense of indifference. Pinkie Pie was uncharacteristically lying down as well, her head resting on crossed hooves. Fluttershy––the only pony not to have spoken––was sleeping against Pinkie.

"Is it too much to ask for some peaceful sleep?" Twilight groaned, but it merely a show; she was glad to see her friends. Applejack broke her route to climb the stairs to Twilight's bed.

"Mornin' sugarcube. How ya feelin'?" she said in a soft tone, like the way one would speak to a child. Inadvertently ignoring her, Twilight lazily rolled herself off the bed, and groggily trotted down the stairs, Applejack following her side-by-side. Stretching out her forelegs and back, she yawned and then greeted her guests.

"Mmmorning. Mm, what are you girls doing here?" Everypony echoed her sentiment, but otherwise stared at her silently, like they were waiting for her to explode. Applejack looked her in eye cautiously.

"You... don't remember?" she asked, making Twilight uncomfortable. Did something happen? She studied her friends more intimately, and noticed that they were all nervous. Nervous about what? Did she get drunk last night and do something ignorantly stupid? Oh, Celestia, Twilight prayed she did not start dancing on table tops. That was... embarrassing to say the least. Oh, the Princess was _not _letting her live that down either. Every now and then, when Twilight was least expecting it, she would make a quip that would fluster her. Twilight prepared herself for the worst.

"Um... no? Oh-please-tell-me-I-wasn't-dancing-on-tables-again!" she blurted, ears laid back against her mane. Applejack's mouth fell open as she tried to process that information, and the rest graciously held back their laughter at her expense. Well, all but Rainbow Dash, who snorted then fell to the floor laughing.

"Bwahahaha! Dancing on tables? Again? Something you want to admit to us, Twilight?" Twilight felt her face grow hot as a blush crept up her cheeks. Rarity shot a glare at Rainbow, one that went unnoticed by her as she rolled around on the ground. The proper seamstress scrunched her nose at the mare's uncouth behavior. Applejack shot daggers at her.

"_Rainbow Dash_!" Applejack spat at her, "Yer gonna laugh at her after what's happened?" Rainbow rolled onto her stomach and rolled her eyes.

"Oh _come on _cowgirl! I'm just trying to lighten up the situation is all. Can't fault me for that, can you?" Twilight cut Applejack off before she could retort with some sort of clever cliche. Something was odd about what she said.

"What do you mean, "after what's happened"?" she asked the farm mare slowly, unsure if she wanted the answer. Applejack looked around uneasily, first at Rainbow then at Rarity, looking for confirmation. _Confirmation for what? What's troubling them? _Twilight thought. Rarity prodded the air in front of her with a hoof, signaling Applejack to carry on with whatever she was about to reveal. She cleared her throat.

"You... don't remember?" she repeated. Now Twilight was becoming very anxious. This was beyond some embarrassing action. These ponies––her closest friends––were genuinely _scared _for her. This did not bode well at all. What could she have done to frighten them like this? She was one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria, she did not... did she destroy something? Had she fallen into some sort of blackout and rampaged? But as far as Twilight was concerned, she had no knowledge of dark magic. The study or dabbling of dark or black magic was expressly forbidden in Equestria, punishable by banishment. Her ears pressed against the back of her head, Twilight shied away unconsciously from Applejack and her extremely inquisitive look, her eyes darting back and forth between everypony else. Her heart beat just a little faster, and she laughed nervously.

"Does somepony want to explain what's going on? It's just... all of this... well, you're starting to scare me," Twilight asked as she back away slightly. Rarity barked a half-hearted laugh, looking at Twilight in utter disbelief.

"We... we're scaring _you_? Heh... My dear, the _fright _you gave us last night," she said. Fright? How did she scare them? What did she do! _Come on Twilight, think_! What happened last night? She... she...

She had a nightmare, did she not? Twilight chuckled nervously.

"Girls... what's going on? What..."

"You don't remember _anything_? Come on Twi! The way you screamed I thought somepony was trying to assassinate you!" Rainbow Dash blurted, closing the distance between them with a flash of the visible spectrum. Applejack just stared at Rainbow, eyes half-lidded, as Twilight's mouth fell open in shock.

"Assassination? Really? I think you've been readin' too many of those books of yers. But Rainbow's right, Twi, you were screamin' loud enough to wake all of Tartarus," she said, returning her gaze back to the purple unicorn. Twilight searched the room for something else to look at, anything but her friends and their concerned stares. She screamed last night... but why could she not remember? Was she having a nightmare? Twilight shivered as a cold chill swept through the air. A nightmare? But she no longer had nightmares. Living with the Princess of the Sun tended to abate most fears. Was it possible? What would she even have nightmares about? Her friends all claimed she was screaming last night... but...

A wave of petrifying fear overwhelmed her, bringing along with it the sense of deja vu. It tore through her, dragging three words back into her head and pounded each one into the back of her mind, like one would pound on a locked door to seek entrance.

_Bang––Something._

_Bang––Is._

_Bang––Coming._

Parts of last night flowed back, and she collapsed under the shear pressure, her breath coming in short gasps. Something soft and firm caught her in mid-fall, and she forced her eyes open––now clogging with fresh tears––looking into the magenta and green eyes of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Applejack removed her hoof from Twilight, and handed her over to Rainbow Dash, who flew her off the stairs and down onto the bottom level. Almost at once the others who were awake crowded around her.

"Oh no! Oh dear, what's wrong? Do you remember? Oh darling, tell us. What happened?" cried Rarity, throwing her hooves around Twilight in an overexaggerated hug, one the did not fulfil its purpose of being comforting. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash pulled her off.

"Geez Rarity, back off! She needs room to breathe!" Rarity, not wishing to start an argument in light of the situation, huffed, and forced herself to be content with standing nearby and stroking Twilight's mane with a forehoof.

"Do you Twi? Do you remember?" repeated Applejack, adopting that soft voice once more. Twilight breathed a few times, trying to collect herself before she responded. She sniffed, then finished by blinking the tears from her eyes. It was not perfect, but it would have to suffice for now.

"I... I..." she began, swallowing back another wave of tears, "No. No, I don't. But... but I can still feel it. Like some sort of aftershock. It was... despairing. And terrible. I felt... it felt like the world was never going to be the same again. Not in a good way, either. I felt... I heard... I don't know. I have this overwhelming feeling like... like––"

"Like something really bad is about to happen. Like something is coming, something not nice, not nice at all," finished Pinkie, who was not making eye contact with anypony. In fact, the mare's head drooped as she stared at the floor, and there was something else off about her, something that Twilight just could not put her hoof on. She walked up to the unicorn, nudging her neck in empathy. Twilight continued to stare at her, trying to place what was wrong. It was her mane. It was no longer its usual puffy mess, instead flat and straightened, echoing her own depression.

"It's alright, Pinkie," Twilight comforted her, "It was only a dream. Just a nightmare. I'm probably just overreacting about it. Wouldn't be the first time, right?"

Pinkie cracked a smile. "Remember that time when I first heard about your Pinkie Sense? I went through _all _that trouble to try and explain it, and in the end I couldn't, and just had to accept it?"

For a moment Pinkie narrowed her eyes in thought, then with a snort of laughter her mane burst back into its normal, puffy state. "Oh yeah!" she giggled, "You were stalking me that _whole _day, and then at the end we got chased by that _huuuuge-o-mongo _Hydra! Oh, but that was right before Fluttershy almost exploded twice, and then your mane caught fire, and you––*snort*––_had an anvil dropped on your head_! And a piano, too, but that's not as impressive as an anvil! _Unless_ it was a grand piano, 'cause that would be super funny! What's the difference between a grand piano and a normal piano, anyway? Is it actually grander than a normal piano, or is it one of those hacksaw/saw things, where you don't actually hack with it, but you call it that anyway?" she finally finished, her outlandish digression leaving the others not without some level of confusion. It was at this point that Twilight came to notice that one of her dearest friends was missing.

"Where did Spike go?" she asked the group at large, searching the room to see if she could make out his scaley figure taking a nap somewhere obscure. It was Rarity who answered.

"Oh, dear little Spikey-wikey decided to burden himself with cooking us a meal. Isn't he the sweetest little thing?" Rarity cooed, "He left only shortly before you woke, so he should be back any minute to serve us––"

"Breakfast!" Spike the dragon called from the doorway. In his tiny purple arms he carried a tray just larger than himself, loaded with enough eggs and hay bacon strips for each of the mares plus Spike, and seven glasses of orange juice. Rarity, the ever-generous-one, (quite literally, as it were), perked up and instantly went to work with her magic, grabbing the plates of food and placing them in front of each pony present, leaving Spike to pass out the glasses of orange juice. When he passed Fluttershy, who was still asleep, he looked at her incredulously, as if he could not believe the mare was still sleeping. With a roll of his eyes he moved on, finishing by handing Rarity her drink with a sweeping bow that made her giggle.

"Why thank you Spike, this breakfast you made us looks absolutely scrumptious! What would Twilight do without you?" she said, both of them ignoring the glare the librarian gave her.

"Anything for you, m'lady," he said with another bow, before taking his own plate and positioning himself between Twilight and Rarity. Before the six of them could dig in, Pinkie Pie took it upon herself to wake Fluttershy in a way only she could. She bound forward and pressed her face so close to the sleeping pony's that one could have sworn their foreheads were touching. Everypony in the room held their breath (including Pinkie) and waited for the obnoxiously loud noise that was sure to accompany whatever plan the eccentric mare had. Instead she merely stood there, concentrating hard on... something.

After a moment of everypony observing the two, Fluttershy's eyes blinked slowly open as she yawned near-inaudibly.

"Mmmmmorning everypony," she greeted in a voice that complimented her name perfectly. She flinched when she noticed Pinkie's extreme proximity to her. "Oh! Hi there Pinkie. I didn't see you there." Pinkie merely smiled in acknowledgement, then hopped back to her dish and started eating one of her eggs.

"Mornin' sugarcube. Did ya sleep alright?" responded Applejack as she began working on her eggs as well.

"Oh yes I did. I had this wonderful dream about Angel Bunny. Did Twilight––Oh! Morning Twilight. How are you feeling?" she said with a smile, blinking sleep from her eyes. By this time everypony had begun to eat their breakfast, with the exception of Fluttershy, who passed on her eggs to Rainbow Dash. Twilight took a gulp of orange juice before answering.

"Better. It was merely a nightmare, that's all," she explained. Some part of her mind decidedly agreed that that was all it was, just a passing night terror, and the rest of her hoped that a nightmare was all the dream was. However, some nagging feeling somewhere in the back of her mind had its doubts. It whispered to her, repeating the only words that she could remember: _something is coming. Something is coming._ But they were not words, more like... an idea. An idea planted in her head. But that notion was insane. No idea was planted in her head, it was but a nightmare, one that would eventually disappear from memory. Nothing would come of it.

However, if something was to come of it, preparations should be made. If Twilight were to allow herself to believe in visions, that could mean something truly was coming. Pinkie Pie likewise had a similar fear, although through her Pinkie Sense as opposed to a dream, but was in essence the same message: something is coming. And if both of those were to be taken as fact, then that would also imply that whatever was coming was something terrible. And if this were true, then Princess Celestia should be warned! But...

Twilight mentally shook her head and reprimanded herself. She was acting too fast, moving on a whim. She should allow herself some time to investigate the matter, and even then, what would come of warning the Princess if it was but a nightmare? She had ruled Equestria since it was founded over a thousand years ago, surely if there was something to worry about, either Celestia or her sister would have already laid down measures against it. The alicorn sisters had seen many things in the wake of their rule, and certainly even more before, although Celestia perhaps more than Luna, as the Princess of the Night was sealed in her Moon for a thousand years.

Which raised an interesting question in Twilight's mind: Where _did_ Celestia and Luna come from? And for that matter, just how were the alicorns born? Great, one more inquiry to bother her. Answering that would have to wait, as there was breakfast to consume.

"So Fluttershy, where's Time Turner? It's almost as if he never leaves your side," said Rarity, vying for casual conversation.

Twilight was grateful for the distraction, even if that was all it was; the warning still lingered in the part of her mind acquainted with doubt.

"Oh, he took the day off to go pick some flowers for me. But don't say anything to him! I'm, uh, not supposed to know," Fluttershy replied, a slight blush creeping up her cheek.

"Awe, that's absolutely sweet of him. You two are so adorable together; if only I had myself a stallion like that," Rarity said, and Spike shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Rarity having a stallion. Twilight and Applejack, the only two to notice, shared a knowing look. It was no secret to anypony in Ponyville that the adolescent dragon shared feelings for the seamstress mare.

After that short exchange, the rest of the morning continued in the same fashion. The mares and Spike finished their meal as they shared stories and focused on everything but the nightmare and anything associated with it. Eventually the time came when some had to leave; Rarity left to go check on Sweetie Belle (her younger sister), and Applejack, who had to go back to harvest apples at Sweet Apple Acres. This left Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie alone with Spike and Twilight. They sat in silence for only a short while (which in itself was a surprise, what with Pinkie still being there) before Rainbow Dash expressed a desire for the newest _Daring Do _novel: _Daring Do and the Most Dangerous Game_. Twilight jumped at the distraction, and was eternally grateful to Rainbow for it.

Together, all four of them retreated to the library section of Twilight's house, for it doubled as Ponyville's main Library, or more accurately, Ponyville's main Library doubled as Twilight's house. As Twilight searched the shelves for the book, Pinkie Pie bounded off to some undisclosed location, while Rainbow Dash lounged on the stairs, managing to fall asleep after almost no time had passed, a familiar stetson lying on her head.

Twilight pulled both old and new books off the shelves around her, passing each one in front of her with her magic, then declared "no!" before replacing it. Spike rolled out the ladder and began to search the top-most shelves, although he did this half-heartedly. He knew the location of Twilight's copy of _Daring Do and the Most Dangerous Game_, but proceeded to let his friend continue to distract herself below, for that was what she was doing.

Spike knew the location of every book in the library, but hesitated to steal Twilight's distraction away from her. For now the mare had taken whatever caused her pain and archived it into some part of her mind in an effort to forget it, and searching for a book was one of the few things that ever caused the unicorn to become oblivious, another being reading. No, he opted to stay on the top shelves, and let his friend below search to her heart's content. Besides, it would take her awhile. her collection of _Daring Do_ books were archived under "Fantasy" and "Adventure", and right now she was going through the entirety of "Historical Significance".

The rest of the morning and following noon and afternoon passed by rather quickly. Around lunchtime, just before Spike retreated to the kitchen and Twilight moved on from "Historical Significance" to "Mystery" and "Drama", Time Turner arrived to present Fluttershy the flowers he picked for her, and she flawlessly pulled off a pretense of immediate surprise at the flattery, much to his pleasure. Nothing interesting really happened, until Spike left for the kitchen to serve up some lunch.

That was when Applejack returned.

The bell above the door rang, drawing Twilight out of her stupor. She turned around to see the cowgirl jaunt in, coat glistening with fresh sweat.

"Hi Applejack! Anything I can do help you? Or were you looking for a book?"

"Hi Applejack!" came the small voice of Fluttershy.

"Howdy ya'll. I just came back t' pick up mah hat. I must of left it 'round here somewheres," she said, observing the room at large. Her grass-green eyes landed on the azure eyes of Time Turner, and the temperature in the room dropped. Applejack's eye twitched ever so slightly before drawing off to the opposite side of the room, where Rainbow Dash slept, curled up on the stairs with a stetson wrapped over her head.

She promptly trotted over and (carefully) pulled the hat off of Rainbow and onto her her own head. The sudden burst of light woke the cyan mare, who blinked at first at Applejack, then to the stetson resting on her crown, then back to the glare Applejack was giving her. She smiled sheepishly when she realized why Applejack was glaring at her.

"Um... morning, A.J.?"

Applejack raised a brow at this. "Mornin'? It ain't been mornin' fer a few hours now. How long you been asleep?" Rainbow Dash returned her quizzical stare before studying the clock nearby. After a minute or so, she yawned and turned to Twilight, eyes pleading. Twilight rolled hers and sighed. She really must get around to teaching her how to read a simple clock. Seriously, it was ridiculous.

"It's two o'clock." Rainbow grunted her gratitude, and, yawning, curled back up, plopping a hoof over her nose.

Then in a burst of energy she shot back up, fully alert. "TWO O'CLOCK? Oh ponyfeathers, I'm late for my shift!" Then blew through the library's door at a superequine speed.

"Uh... see ya?" said Applejack, putting the hat back on her head, still staring at where the pegasus disappeared.

"Oh, I hope she doesn't get in trouble..."

"Don't worry now, I'm sure she'll be fine," Time Turner offered, then added when Fluttershy did not seem assured, "She can clear the sky in 'ten seconds flat', now how about that? They're not going to get rid of their fastest weather mare on account of being late."

"Besides, Rainbow's one of their top pegasi's. If they were gonna lay her off, they woulda done it years ago back when late mornin' naps was a problem fer her. By now her bosses are probably used to her showing up late; she sure makes up for it," said Applejack, putting in her two bits.

Fluttershy pondered this, seeming cheered by the assurances. At least, a smile appeared on her face and she began to giggle. Twilight raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's so funny, Fluttershy?"

"I don't think Rainbow has to worry about being laid off..."

"There, see? Nothing to worry your head about––"

"Seeing as it's a _Saturday_." Everyone stopped. Each shared glances with one another before smiles broke out amongst them, followed by chuckling and giggling. It felt good to laugh. The joyous moment ended abruptly however, when Applejack caught Time Turner's eye and immediately stopped giggling. Time Turner followed suit, and it was not fun having a laugh when two friends were left out. Applejack's reaction to Time Turner did not go unnoticed by Twilight though. Twilight had opened her mouth to (hopefully) quietly interrogate her on the subject, but was interrupted by Spike waking out of a makeshift kitchen in an adorable and most unbecoming apron.

"Lunch is ready!" he called to the crowd of ponies.

_Well, _Twilight thought, _it can wait until later_. The five ponies (where did Pinkie Pie come from?) and dragon emptied into the kitchen, where the dragon served them delicious grilled sandwiches, made with succulent daisies and poppies.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully, until the afternoon. After lunch, Applejack and Time Turner got into a fight that no one else was there to witness the beginning of. What it was about was unknown to all present, and possibly lost to those involved as well. After the verbal war, Applejack abruptly left (and nopony faulted her for this), but not before proposing to Twilight a sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres.

Not long after a customer arrived, reminding Twilight that her house of residence was, in fact, a fully functioning library. While she preoccupied herself fulfilling her job as a librarian and seeing to the colt's book-related needs, Fluttershy and her stallion decided to take their leave and make their way back to Fluttershy's Cottage ("before Angel gets it into his head to give Discord a run for his money," as Time Turner put it).

Pinkie also returned home to the twins, which, after the colt left with his order of books, left Twilight and Spike to themselves.

Spike found that to be utterly boring. And so, to relieve his unrequited boredom, he pitched the prospect of an afternoon picnic to Twilight. After a few minutes of playful banter that gave the dragon hope things were back to normal, the unicorn caved in, and agreed.

After an argument that involved gems, an owl, and cucumber sandwiches, the duo found themselves delighting in supper consisting of daisy and daffodil sandwiches, (courtesy of Spike), on a checkered towel underneath a large, mushroom-shaped tree. A family of pegasi were also vacationing on the ground under the same tree, enjoying a picnic of vegetables and cow milk.

Celestia's sun had just abandoned its midday perch, and was resting a couple inches to the west. This cast a shadow over Twilight and Spike, shading them from the warmth of the sun bearing down, but regardless they were able to enjoy the beauty of day from afar as the warmth was carried to them on a light breeze tinged with a comfortable chill.

Other ponies had also taken the time to enthrall themselves with the beauty of nature that existed around the local park. Some paced the trails at a slow trot; a few accounted for the whispers of the trees as the wind blew, carrying the conversations from tree to tree; new couples caught up in the novelty of each other's gazes; and some listened to the songs of the birds, matching their tune and singing in harmony with them.

For Spike and Twilight the afternoon passed by in a blissful silence. They each enjoyed their meals, taking comfort in each other's presence. Twilight would observe the scenes unfolding around her, calculating and analyzing the expressions and reactions and moods of the ponies nearby, and Spike could see it in her that she was trying to somehow turn equine behavior into an equation.

Spike busied himself watching Twilight. Time had passed since the morning, but still he had an uneasy feeling. He worried for her, and as she studied others he studied her. For the longest time Twilight was the only friend he had––not because he was anti-social outcast, but because all of his time was spent caring and being cared for by one. Twilight Sparkle was many things to Spike, most of which could be summed up as surrogate mother and adopted sister. As he looked at her, reminding himself of the pain she was in earlier, a sadness welled up inside him. Standing up, he tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around to look at him, he wrapped his arms around her foreleg, squeezing it slightly. Twilight winced at the sharpness of his claws, but ignored it and put a hoof around him as well. Spike glanced up into her eyes, and Twilight smiled down at him.

"Thank you, Spike," Twilight sniffed. Together they curled up on the grass, watching the clouds as they passed on by.

The shadow that was over them passed, descending onto the nearby pegasi as they packed their leftovers and disappeared.


	2. Nightmares And Alicorns

CHAPTER II

NIGHTMARES AND ALICORNS

"_Hold on! I'm a-comin'!"_

Twilight was surrounded by black. Shadows? Or night? She could not tell––wherever she was, time seemed to be irrelevant. She stared off into the empty space, peering into the abyss around her although she could not see anything beyond her nose. Twilight came to the realization that she was quite literally alone. Nothing existed but her alone... but she wasn't alone. As she stared into the abyss, the abyss stared back at her, and Twilight became increasingly aware of the shadows around her. She strained her ears, and swore she picked up the sounds of whispering from far off, but as soon and she turned to look, it stopped.

Then it appeared again behind her––No! It was not behind her, but next to her––but it was not. Twilight continued to prance around the eerie blackness, searching for the source of the existential whispers. They were taunting her! Toying with her! But, who? There was no "they"! Nopony was there. Twilight gazed into the dark, studying it. Nothing moved, yet the longer she stared, the more the darkness itself seemed to move. She snapped her gaze away, but to no avail––there was nothing to look away to! Everywhere she turned was the same inky blackness, present even when she closed her eyes.

Twilight did what came to her naturally––she cast a spell. At least, she tried to. Whether her magic refused to work, or the darkness was so great it engulfed any and all light, her spell failed. No light was cast from her horn, and as a chill began to claw at her skin, she could hear the whispering coming closer and closer. It was directly behind her, and as she turned around she knew there would be nothing, and she was right. Twilight turned completely around, and the whispering stopped, only to reappear a short ways to the right.

Straining her ears again, she could almost make out what the sounds were. It was sharp, high-pitched, and airy, almost like the mischievous giggle of a foal. But, there was more. Deep down, below the laughing, was words. Try as she might, she could not quite make them out. It almost sounded like chanting...

Dam... or... 'E'? Dam or 'E', ori, or Demo Re? Damo Re? Was she mishearing it, or was she misunderstanding it? Was it even an Equestrian language!? But, there was more. Ow... nor. She repeated it over and over in her head, but it always sounded like gibberish. It was useless. The words 'ow' and 'nor' did not make a lick of sense put together like that. Maybe she heard it wrong. What the hay was going––

Everything went quiet.

Fear crept back in as the eerie silence took its toll on her mind. Once again, she was alone in the dark, but, as Twilight stared deeply into the shadows, she came to a disturbing revelation. She was not alone in the dark, she was alone _with_ the dark. Tendrils of shadow grasped at her skin, its touch sending a cascade of ice flowing through her veins. She tried to run, but the shadows' grip was too strong. She was stuck, fear groping her and squeezing the life from her body.

The whispers returned, taunting her as she was slowly asphyxiated.

_Damorii au'nor... Damorii au'nor... Damorii au'nor..._

Years passed as her mind mind grew numb, unable to form thoughts... to think... to... maybe it was time to die. Yes, death seemed appropriate. Her thoughts became silent as she awaited the fall into endless sleep. She was so tired... her mind so quiet... just a void... a void that needed to be filled. But, what was there to replace it?

_Damorii au'nor... Damorii au'nor... Damorii au'nor..._

Yes... yes! Please... Damorii au'nor! The whispers ceased around her, no longer outside. They filled the void, filled her mind, became her mind! Damorii au'nor! She chanted along with the whispers, her voice now one of many, indistinct from the many others. She became part of the whispers, and they became a part of her. She could not think another thought but what the voices told her. Why would she want to? To disobey was to belong to the void once more, and she did not want that. There was no other thoughts than the whispers, the voices. Damorii au'nor!

What did it mean? What did it matter? It was all she knew, and it was all that mattered. Damorii au'nor! Damorii au'nor! Damorii au'nor!

Then why did it feel so wrong?

Then she fell.

* * *

Twilight woke up with a start, although thankfully not as intense as yesterday night. Her breathing was, for the most part, normal, and there was a thankful lack of a headache. A quick glance around assured her that she was home. No more darkness, no more pain. The sun shone brightly through her window, casting everything in the room in light. Nothing was hidden here, no shadows, no secrets, no whispers. This was a safe place, a sanctuary.

In light of this observation, she traveled downstairs to cook herself breakfast. The white light shone through all of the library's windows, leaving nothing in the dark. Motes of dust floated just visibly through the beams of light, and all was quiet. All was safe. All was tranquil.

Twilight began to search for a book to read. After all, what fun was there eating alone, without anything to keep the mind company? What book to read, what book to read... After careful consideration, Twilight found herself lounging in her bed, reading a book she could no longer remember the name of. A grilled daisy and cheese sandwich laid next to her, on its own bed of ceramic glass. A black glow surrounded it, and Twilight took a bite of it before returning her lunch to its resting place.

She looked out the single window in her room to Celestia's sun hanging in the center of the sky. There was no doubt that, with the right tools that she may or may not have access to, the studios unicorn could prove if the sun truly did sit in the center of the sky, but at the moment she only cared for the comforting and familiar warmth that it extended unto her.

Twilight turned her gaze to the city underneath. Everywhere lay thatched-roof houses, dotted across the town. Ponyville was such a peaceful place, the home of her friends. She watched the streets, and nothing moved to disturb the quiescence of the scene before her. The sun above seemed to wash everything in a white haze, and all was quiet. All was safe. All was tranquil.

Twilight closed the book she was reading (_A Hearth's Warming Eve Story_) and walked casually outside. The streets of Canterlot were beautiful; there were no cracks in the whitewashed stones of the road she trotted on, the colors of the walls of the towers and buildings around her were all of a pleasant uniformity, the inlaid borders of gold polished to reflect the white of the sun and cast it over all.

A lovely breeze cooled her, causing her mane to sway, and the wind whispered comforting things to her. _All is quiet. All is safe. All is tranquilI._

And it was: The silence around her filled her with nostalgia––it was akin to the quiet she enjoyed in her old library. The familiarity of all around her brought back a sense of security––this was where she grew up, this was her home. And both of these things brought with them a sense of intimate peace. This was her sanctuary.

Turning her back on the view before her, Twilight trotted up the curved stairs that led to the upper floor balcony of her old Canterlot home. The smell of books lingered up here, from musty old tomes to freshly printed paper. Layering the walls of the protege's chambers were numerous bookcases, each packed tightly with enough books that, all together, could fill the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville. Each book was in pristine condition, and they were always cared for. When Twilight wasn't studying, then every tome and scroll was carefully put back in its correct place. However, this wasn't the case now. On the floor, nearby a ladder that rested against the bookshelf it belonged to, was a dusty book.

As she made her way to replace the book back where it belonged, she noticed the large hourglass that stood tall in the center of her balcony. It was a day-long hourglass, ending at sunset, and magically resetting itself at sunrise. As of right now, the sand on top was almost gone. Twilight checked outside, and sure enough, the sun was just caressing the horizon.

A black glow covered the book as the unicorn magically picked up the tome, and a dark haze thickened the air as she blew several layers of dust off of the cover. She gazed at the front, curious as to what book it was. _The Mare in the Moon: The Tragic Tale of Nightmare Moon and Other Legendary Stories, by Inkstroke_. This was a book she had read a few years ago, the same one that brought to her attention the possible reality of Nightmare Moon's existence, which turned out to be correct. The lavender librarian allowed herself to sucumb to nostalgia, and opened the tome and flipped through it.

As she expected, the recounting of Nightmare Moon's fall was the very first excerpt. Flipping a few pages ahead, she found a story based around Discord's reign. How curious, the Hearth's Warming Eve tale was included. There was also a story about an invincible monster called the "Smooze", what kind of name was that? And finally, a heavily abridged version of Orponyus's descent into Tartarus.

Twilight closed the book, glancing back to the hourglass as the last grain fell, coinciding with the very tip of Celestia's sun disappearing beyond the horizon. In that moment, three very disturbing things happened.

Both halves of the hourglass glowed; the top a bright white shaded with a golden yellow, and the bottom a blood red encasing a black mist. In between both of them, at the point where both halves met, glowed a brilliant blue orb.

The large castle doors that gave entrance to her chambers slammed shut with a resounding boom, and no matter how hard she tried, Twilight could not open them. She tried using her magic, first to pull it open, then to try and blast it open. Neither worked, and so the unicorn resorted to wrapping her hooves around one of the thick handles and tried to pry it open physically. Years of depending on her excessive assortment of spells had left her rather... soft, and so the door did not budge an inch.

Unable to provoke the slightest reaction from the large blue doors (which might have well been one solid blue wall with handles for decor), Twilight began to panic. She backed away from the door, frantically searching for another escape. The window caught her eye. It was possible, she would have to be extremely lucky, and potentially painful, but she just might be able to make it with enough magic on her end.

A black glow surrounded her horn as she prepared any spell that would either slow her descent, or help her survive the fall. With the spells in mind, she began to charge at the wall-sized pane of glass, but was frozen in her tracks by the third thing.

Night had come, but it wasn't the moon rising into the sky. In its place was a dark orb, and it was growing. Tendrils of familiar darkness wound their way through the world outside, consuming everything in their path. The shadows swarmed the towns below, and Twilight watched in horror as Appleloosa was desecrated, some unholy presence being blanketed over the buildings, corrupting its very structure.

Next, frozen in terror, she was forced to watch Ponyville consumed. The unicorn could only gaze as the place she loved, her home, became a throne for this sentient, dark entity.

It did not stop with the place she grew to love. The tendrils, now more like sheets of evil, continued to grasp and strangle everything in sight. Baltimare, Vanhoover, Manehattan, nowhere was safe. Not even the Everfree Forest, with all of its own incomprehensible madness, could sway the oncoming storm.

Hours passed by in seconds, and seconds passed by in hours as she witnessed the consumption of Equestria. And then, finally, it came for the last standing city. Canterlot.

Shocked back into action, Twilight galloped back to the door, begging it to open for her as she yanked on the handle with all her might. The white spires turned gray and cracked at the touch of the ethereal shadows. Even with her combination of physical force and magic, the doors did not allow her exit.

"Please!" she cried out, "Please! It's coming! Please open up!"

The room was cast into shadow as the window was coated in inky blackness.

"Please! I don't want to die! Open up!" The door did not answer.

There was a loud explosion, the shattering of glass, as the window blew, tendrils of unholy darkness seeping in from outside.

"PLEASE! PLEASE OPEN UP!" Twilight stopped yanking on the doors, resorting to banging them pathetically with her hooves.

They slithered on the floor, taking their time and working their way to the helpless unicorn slowly. The darkness enjoyed her fear, it thrived on it.

"PLEASE HELP ME! SOMETHING IS COMING!" With those three words, accented by the banging of her hooves, the doors opened. Beyond them was a swirling sea of sentient darkness, whispers and screams echoing from the depths as Twilight realised her mistake.

"_Damorii au'nor," Damorii au'nor, "Damorii au'nor," Damorii au'nor, "Damorii au'nor," Damorii au'nor..._

Numerous tentacles whipped out from the abyss, wrapping themselves around her form, dragging her closer and closer to the edge as the whispers and screams grew louder and louder.

"_Damorii au'nor," Damorii au'nor, "Damorii au'nor," Damorii au'nor, "Damorii au'nor," Damorii au'nor!_

Twilight struggled against the grip on her, pushing her hooves into the ground in an effort to find some sort of grip, but to no avail. She was yanked off the edge, thrown into the darkness below, cries echoing around her as she fell into the dismal abyss.

"_Damorii... au'nor'ii!"_

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

The sound of the rooster crowing was not a novelty to Applejack, not in a long time. Since she could remember the rooster's crow had always been the signal for her to awaken. Sometimes she would even wake up before, and would watch out of her window as the bird settled on top of her family's barn, waiting for it's unmistakable, "_cock-a-doodle-doo!_" signifying the beginning of her day. Today was one of those such days.

Just as she had found it hard to fall asleep that evening, equally so she found it hard to stay asleep that morning. Something was bothering her, but she could not tell what. It was some sort of pressure on her heart, causing her to ache for some poor soul, but that may have been for the lavender unicorn sprawled out on the mattress set up near her.

The mare tossed and turned in her bed, the posts squeaking with every movement as she tried to find a comfortable position to lay in as she awaited the crow of the rooster. Finally, she sat up. Nothing was going to take, and if she could not be comfortable then there was no purpose to staying in bed. Pushing herself off, she made for the door, stepping over the prone form of Twilight Sparkle.

Applejack observed the unicorn lying on her mattress. She looked so calm and quiet, a looked she deserved to have after the previous morning. As Applejack quietly observed the unicorn resting on the spare mattress, she took notice of something off.

Twilight lay still, but too still; there was no tell-tale rise and fall as the mare's body unconsciously breathed in her slumber.

"_No no no no no!_" Applejack whispered under her breath as she brought an orange hoof under the unicorn's snout. No breath. Twilight was not breathing! "_No no no no no!_"

She quickly pressed an ear to the mare's still form, searching for some kind of sign to prove her dear friend was still alive, still fighting. Whatever had come over Twilight in her sleep, whatever had caused this, it had to be related to yesterday morning, Applejack was sure of it. The similarities were too great for them to be a coincidence.

The farm pony was not sure what to make of what she heard. There _was_ a heartbeat coming from her friend's chest, but it was off. Wrong, abnormal, something that should not be. She counted out the beats, first in her head, then by tapping them out with a hoof to make sure what she was hearing was correct. _Tap tap tap, tap tap. _Three beats, then two. It repeated, the heartbeat constant but wrong. Twilight was alive, but how alive Applejack could not fathom. Then, there was the task of getting her to breathe, without which she would not be alive for much longer.

Showcasing her natural earth pony strength, Applejack flipped the unicorn onto her back with an unceremonious _flop_. She beat a hoof on the mare's chest, praying that somehow that would work, but it was in vain.

"Twi'! C'mon, Twi', wake up! _Wake up!_" Applejack tried to recall back to a conversation she and Nurse Redheart once had. She could not remember what had initiated the conversation, but Redheart certainly brought up a procedure in case a pony stopped breathing. The mare wracked her brain for a precious second, before she remembered: thirty presses, two breaths.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, and got to work. Applejack positioned herself over Twilight, pressing both hooves into her chest and she counted off in her head. _One, two, three, four, five, six. _There was a dull thumping as Big Macintosh trotted into her room.

"Aren't ya going––" The muscular red stallion froze when he saw his sister bent over the unmoving unicorn, pumping her hooves into Twilight's chest. "What's wrong?"

_Ten, eleven, twelve._ "She ain't breathin' Mac! She ain't breathin'!" Applejack continued to stare down at her friend beneath her, not daring to look away at her brother, but she did not need to to see his eyes widen. _Fifteen, sixteen._

"Big Mac! What's takin' Applejack so long? I'm hungry!" Applebloom's voice carried in from the hallway.

"Don't let her in! She can't see this!" Applejack commanded her brother, but he had already taken the initiative, moving his body so as to block the doorway and the occupants from view.

"Stay out!" His deep voice boomed in the dark hallway, but his kid sister would have none of it. The filly fought against the might of her older, and much larger brother, to no avail. But she had heard enough in his voice to understand something bad was happening, and her foalish curiosity was getting the better of her. _Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three._

"What's wrong? What's goin' on? Is somepony hurt? Who is it?"

"I said stay out!"

_Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty! _With the thirty count up, Applejack pushed back Twilight's head and pulled open her mouth. Her mind could not process what she was about to do with her friend, but the farm mare ignored that and took a deep breath, emptying the air into the unicorn's lungs. Another breath, and Applejack returned back to pumping Twilight's chest.

"What's goin' on up here? Are any of ya goin' t' eat?" came the voice of Granny Smith.

"Somepony's hurt and Big Mac won't let me in!" _Five, six, seven, eight._

"Who is it, Mac, who's hurt?" _Eleven, twelve, thirteen._

"Twilight," answered Big Macintosh.

"Twilight's hurt? C'mon, Big Mac, I want t' see her!" _Eighteen, nineteen, twenty––snap!_ Applejack cried out in alarm, tears breaking through her mental dam when she heard a hollow crack resonate from Twilight's chest, and she could feel the mare's rib snap under her hoof.

"Nope!"

Applejack tore her eyes away from the unicorn for the first time, turning to her brother barricading the doorway, "Big Mac, take Applebloom an' go get Nurse Redheart! NOW!" Applejack cried, not sure what to do. She continued on, praying to Celestia that she was not damaging Twilight more. _Twenty-two, twenty-three._

"But I want t' see––"

"You heard yer sister, get goin'!" Commanded the elder Apple.

"C'mon, Applebloom."

"But––" she protested, but Big Mac would have none of it.

"C'mon!" he bellowed, and his sister knew better than to argue with him any more. He butted the filly onto his head, and cantered out of the room; Granny Smith and Applejack could hear their porch door crack under the pressure it was forced open with, but neither could care at the moment.

Applejack pressed her lips to Twilight once more, her tears staining the unicorn's coat as she desperately tried to breathe life back into her. One breath, then a second. Time sounded through Applejack's mind as she fought back, the seconds ticking away, teasing her, taunting her. _Tick tock goes the clock. Tick, tock; One, two; tick, tock; three, four._ Once more she repeated the process, each second ticking away the chance of Twilight waking up––each second another chest compression, meant to bring her closer to life, yet dragging her father away.

On Applejack's third attempt, Twilight jolted awake, crying out in both pain and fear. The lavender mare thrashed about from the shock, the sudden movement only serving to further agitate her broken rib. Applejack tried to hold her friend steady, but Twilight fought back, until the overwhelming flame in her breast won out.

Twilight forced herself to relax, chest still heaving and quiet tears still running down her cheeks. Applejack heard Granny Smith behind her breathe a sigh of relief, and she herself let her own emotions flow out as well as she laid down next to the suffering unicorn, and wrapped her body around her.

"Why? Why is this happening to me, Applejack?" Twilight half-sobbed, half whispered after a moment of quiet.

"I don't know sugarcube, I wish I did, I really do; but we're here for ya', all of us. We'll always be here for ya."

Twilight merely whimpered in response, hugging Applejack closer.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

Twilight stared at the simple meal before her. Only the most nutritious foods were carefully laid out on what was probably the cleanest plate she had ever witnessed, each serving having been prepared under the utmost scrutiny, so as to neither malnourish nor over-nourish her beyond an extra gram. Celestia forbid she actually feel full after a meal. She learned after the first day that Applejack had lied when she called the food "hoof-licking good."

Reluctantly, she drank the sour liquid meant to be juice, and nibbled at the tasteless green mash before giving up; she was not hungry anyway. Whatever hunger existed within was extinguished by the pain in her chest when she moved.

Slowly she rested her head against the pine backboard, so as to not agitate her rib more than was necessary. Closing her eyes, Twilight tried to rest, but the ticking of the clock facing her was only outdone by the constant beep from the heart monitor, and the ostentatious snoring from the other side of the curtain. She pulled out the pillow, pulling over her face to muffle her scream.

Once upon a time she would have read a book to relieve her boredom, but today was her third day here, and she had already exhausted the hospital's collection of books––twice. Her muffled scream turned to quiet sobs as her rib flared. The doctor had taken her off morphine yesterday, opting to use oxycodone for the rest of her stay. The drug was administered by pill, and only every six hours. She still had two more hours to go, and the effects were already wearing off.

There was a soft knock on the ward door, alerting its residents to the presence of a white mare. She glanced disdainfully at Twilight's untouched meal before trotting up to her bed.

"Hello, Nurse Redheart," the unicorn said as she tucked the pillow back underneath herself.

"Hello, Ms. Sparkle. I see your meds have started to wear off?" the earth pony replied, giving her patient a pitiable look. Twilight acknowledged her with a nod. "I'm so sorry, dear. I'm here to let you know your friends have stopped by, perhaps they can give you some comfort."

"I,"––Twilight sniffed––"Would love that."

Nurse Redheart smiled. "I'll send them right in," she said in a calm, soothing voice before opening the birchwood door, calling out to the ponies behind it, "She'll see you now, dearies!" The white earth pony moved out of the way as a equally white unicorn mare trotted in, an orange cowpony shuffling behind her. "You three have fun now!" the nurse said, closing the door behind her as she left.

An awkward silence descended between the three mares, Rarity throwing glances at Twilight and Applejack, and the latter refusing to meet Twilight's eyes. Deciding it fell to her to break the silence, Rarity prodded Applejack in the shoulder. "Well," she said, "Go on."

Twilight turned her attention to the orange mare sitting across from her, holding her stetson shamefully in front of her face. "I jus' wanted to say that Ah'm sorry fer... ya know, breaking yer rib." Applejack pulled herself from behind her hat, looking Twilight in the eye as she continued, "Ah'm so sorry Twi', if I'd known that was gonna happen, I would've, I dunno, but I would've tried to stop––"

Twilight raised a hoof, smiling. "Applejack, I forgive you. If it wasn't for your quick thinking, I would probably be in much worse shape. I'm glad a broken rib is all I have to contend with."

"See?" Rarity said, turning to Applejack. "That wasn't too hard, was it?"

Applejack groaned, then sighed. "Thanks for coming, Rare'."

"You're welcome," Rarity singsonged.

It seemed her act of repentance brought upon a new confidence in Applejack, or perhaps it was merely her own brash behavior surfacing when, looking at Twilight's mostly-untouched 'lunch', she asked, "Are ya gonna finish that?"

Twilight gave her answer by pushing the mobile platform over toward the mare, who proceeded to scarf down the tasteless mash. Rarity could not look away from the spectacle, staring at the farm mare with a horrified expression. Applejack looked up only long enough to say, "Wha'? It's goo' ea'in'," causing Rarity's expression to become even more horrified.

Twilight giggled, the pressure on her chest eliciting a sharp hiss of pain from the mare, and the other two mares stopped what they were doing.

"Twilight, are you alright darling?"

"I'll... I'll be fine, Rarity."

Applejack swallowed the mush still left in her mouth. "Are ya sure, sugarcube? 'Cause ya don't look it."

Twilight forced a smile. "All I need is a little rest."

Rarity and Applejack shared a look before the latter said, "Well, if yer sure. We'll come back t'morrow t' see ya, promise."

"And we'll bring along the other girls as well!" added Rarity.

Twilight sunk back into her pillow, a genuine smile working its way across her face. "Sounds like a plan."

The unoiled hinges of the door squeaked as it opened, but when there was no tell of it closing, Twilight glanced at it. Rarity stood in the doorway, propping it open as she anxiously observed the mare in the bed. Twilight gave the unicorn a curious look, and Rarity took that as an invitation to return to her bedside, letting the door swing shut behind her.

"Yes, Rarity?"

"Twilight, this is the second time this has happened to you," Rarity replied, putting a hoof on Twilight. "Something is not right here, Twilight. Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but this is out of our hooves."

"I agree," said Twilight, frowning. "This is no coincidence. When you leave, would you send over Spike with some parchment and a quill?"

"Of course I will, darling. I assume you're going to contact the Princess?"

Twilight nodded. "If anypony knows what's going on, then it's her."

Rarity graced her burdened friend with a warm and comforting smile. "I'll send him right on over. Afterward, however," she added, her voice changing to a more authoritative tone that she more than likely reserved for Sweetie Belle. "Get some rest. Heavens know you could use it."

Twilight nodded. "I'll try."

Rarity flashed another smile, and made her way to the door. She paused as she opened it, turning back to Twilight one more time.

"And, do get better, dear. It pains us all to see you like this."

"Thank you, Rarity," replied Twilight, returning her smile.

Twilight closed her eyes, trying to hardest to follow through with Rarity's suggestion, but try as she might, she could not. It was not until a few hours later when the nurse returned with her medication that she was finally able to sleep. She flushed the small, white pill with a generous swig of the provided water, and succumbed into a pseudo bliss.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

Within the next couple days Twilight had been released from the hospital, with a month's dosage of oxycodone pills, a note telling her to take half of one every six hours (and after a week, cut down to half of one every eight hours), and the order to not over-exert herself under any circumstances.

Since the incident at Applejack's house, Twilight had spent the last few nights dream- and nightmare-free. She owed this to the power of the drugs she had been given, and had used her peaceful free time in-between sending letters to Princess Celestia to dissect those illicit dreams she had. While the details themselves were lost to her, as she tried against her better judgement to recall the visions, the only constant that appeared in her mind was the word "Alicorn". Every time, without fail, when she dwelled on what was better left alone, alicorns came to mind.

Twilight could not fathom why, even when she turned away from her dreams and mulled over this new revelation. What connection did the princesses have with her dreams?

"So, what are you thinking about?" said a male voice from her side. Twilight started when she remembered the presence of Time Turner, who had been tasked to walk her home from the Ponyville Hospital. She turned her attention to the brown stallion beside her, embarrassed that she had been ignoring him this entire time.

"Alicorns." Twilight was not sure why she said it; she had meant to blow it off as nothing but meanless daydreaming, but some unknown force made her speak her mind. Perhaps all the stress from the past week was catching up to her.

"Now, there's a tentative subject if I've ever heard one. What about the alicorns has got your mind?" His voice was smooth, and conversational. He always like listening to her lectures (and if he did not, then he hid it well), and she enjoyed having him there to comment on her ideas.

"Where did the princesses come from?" Once more Twilight was unaware why she was divulging her own mind to the stallion, but she had to admit it was nice not having to horde these thoughts. Actually, now that she thought about it, it may have been the high from her medicine causing this.

"They have ruled Equestria for the last thousand years––perhaps more––benevolently. They even brought peace to the three pony tribes and united our country, but, has anypony ever asked _where _did they come from?"

Time Turner put a hoof to his chin. "Hm, that could lead to a dangerous thought pattern. Somepony not as smart as you could mistake it for anarchy."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. "How so?"

"Well, you're questioning where they come from, and by proxy, whether you meant to or not, you're also questioning their integrity."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she dwelled on what he said. "But, I wouldn't do something like that!"

The stallion put up both hooves defensively. "Oh, I know you wouldn't. But I'm only one of many, and while most will dismiss it because of your position, some will see it as a challenge to their right to rule, rather than an honest inquiry."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" The scenery around them changed as the two entered Ponyville proper. No longer were they surrounded by trees and grassland, but now thatched-roof clay buildings of all sizes, and stalls selling a variety of items.

"Oh, come now, you're smarter than that," he scoffed. Twilight threw a peeved look at him. "You're Princess Celestia's personal protege, aren't you?"

"But, wouldn't that seem a little, invasive? That would be like me asking you how you were born."

"To which you would receive a very unique response."

"Exactly!"

"But you are her protege, and well known for your intense curiosity. I believe she will forgive you inquiring of a previously unexplored subject; I'd dare say she'd expect it of you."

Before Twilight could respond, the two had arrived at the Golden Oaks Library.

"Well, thank you for your company. You've given me something to think about."

She threw her magic around the door handle, but Time Turner grabbed it first, opening the door for her and bowed his head as he gestured into the large tree. "Please, allow me, _Miss Twilight._" He enunciated her name louder than necessary, but Twilight decided to play along.

"Why, thank you, Sir Time Tur––" She was cut off by a loud explosion of color and light and sound. The entire room had been decorated with streamers and ribbons matching Twilight's coat and mane, and balloons of the same colors stamped with her cutie mark were tied to every ballast possible, and some were just left to float on the ceiling. A large banner hung from one end of the room to the other side, welcoming her back home and wishing her well.

"SURPRISE!" screamed the conglomeration of ponies crowded together in the center of the room. Her eyes scanned the crowd, easily picking out the one pony she expected. Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, you didn't have to," Twilight said, unable to hide the huge smile on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rainbow Dash begrudgingly hand over a few bits to a smug Applejack.

"Well of course I did!"

"GAH!" screamed Twilight as Pinkie appeared right next to her.

"_How_ could I have welcomed home my bestest unicorn pal Twilight without a huge-o-mongo _Welcome Home Party_?!" Pinkie explained, throwing a bunch of confetti in the air with her usual flair.

"C'mon, Twi', you gotta know Pinkie better than that by now!" said a voice from up above. Twilight looked up, and saw Rainbow Dash flip back right-side up, and land next to her. The cyan mare offered her hoof for a hoof-bump to the silent stallion. "Thanks for bringing her here, Time. We owe you one!"

Time Turned accepted the hoof-bump, then made off towards the ostentatious crowd.

"Off to find your muse?" Twilight called to him, and he answered with a nod of his head.

"I think I saw her near the punch bowl," offered Rainbow. Time Turner gestured his thanks, and trotted away. The three mares silently watched him walk off, before Rainbow turned to Twilight.

"Y'know, it's almost creepy how much he hangs around her."

"Oh, come on now, Rainbow, they're just a couple in love," softly chided Twilight.

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow rolled her eyes. "But, don't you think he's a little... awkward?"

"Awkward, how?" asked Twilight. The two stopped at the punch table, and Twilight ladled a generous helping of Pinkie's trademark party punch into two glasses, and handed the second one over to the pegasus beside her. Before she answered, Rainbow glanced around, locking her eyes on something for a short moment before returning attention to the unicorn mare before her.

"Y'know, the way he just stops talking and, like, quietly judges you or something? Or like at parties, where he kinda stands away from the crowd and just... watches everypony?"

Now it was Twilight's turn to roll her eyes. "He's just shy. Shy _and_ intelligent; perfect for Fluttershy, wouldn't you think?"

"_Intelligent_?" Rainbow regarded the mare before her with a inquisitive stare. "Wait a sec, _you're crushing on him_?" The pegasus burst into laughter, banging a hoof on the ground. Twilight's cheeks burned as she turned on Rainbow with a hard glare.

"What? You mean how you would run your eyes all over him back when he and Fluttershy first met?" The effect was immediate.

"Woah," Rainbow said, all sign of raucous laughter gone. "Low blow there, Twi'."

"Sorry," Twilight said sheepishly.

"It's cool, Twi'." Rainbow scratched at the back of her head, ruffling her mane. "And, I'm sorry too."

Twilight offered her hoof. "Are we... 'cool'?"

Rainbow chuckled as she bumped Twilight's hoof. "Yeah, we're cool."

The pegasus mare glanced back out at to what caught her eye before, holding her gaze a little longer this time. Curious, Twilight plopped herself right next to her friend, starring in the same general direction.

"What are you looking at?" Rainbow nodded her head to the corner of the room. Twilight scanned that area of the room before finally finding what had caught her friend's eye: Fluttershy and Time Turner lay next to eachother, the mare giggling as the stallion pouted over the spilled drink staining his coat, feebly trying to rub it off with a hoof.

"So, how's your chest feeling?" Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at the mass of white bandages encasing Twilight's midsection.

"The pills are helping dull a lot of the pain," Twilight replied. "Else I'd imagine it would be painful to merely breathe." Rainbow winced at that, pressing a hoof under one of her own ribs reflexively.

"Yeah, I remember when I broke a rib."

"You've broken a rib?" Twilight turned, facing the pegasus.

"It was before you came here, back when I really didn't know anypony. I was out in the fields outside of Ponyville, practicing some wicked moves. During one of them, I threw my wing out in a bank, and hit a wind tunnel that shot me down into this huge pile of rocks." Twilight laid a hoof on her shoulder.

"Oh, Rainbow..."

"Yeah... I was reckless back then," Rainbow said, earning an amused glare from Twilight. "Alright, I still am reckless. But now I have guidelines I follow!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"

"Like: Never practice without somepony there to watch!"

The mare giggled at her friend's ego. In the two years she had lived in Ponyville, never had Rainbow Dash once beheld herself as a spectacle without a substantial audience cheering her on. Rainbow joined her for a spell before abruptly stopping, giving Twilight a serious look that in all the years she had known the pegasus she had never witnessed cross the mare's face before.

Twilight halted, startled by her sudden change in demeanor. "Er... what?"

"It's just, those pills they gave you... be careful with them. They can be..." Rainbow bit her lip. "Addictive."

The unicorn merely stood there staring at her friend, still taken aback. "Uh," she murmured, realizing she had been silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Thanks, I'll remember that."

With the once joyous mood between them tarnished, Rainbow opted to go hunt down Applejack and join her, leaving Twilight alone. She could only watch as the cyan mare trotted away, contemplating her last words.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

_Dear Princess Celestia, _

_During the last week I have been having nightmares that I believe may contain some deeper meaning, and I am hoping that either you or Princess Luna would be gracious enough to shed some light on the matter. _

_The subliminal messages that I can sense in their aftermath greatly worry me, but to what extent I cannot hope to grasp, as whatever inclination I arrive at seems to disappear along with the memories of my dream shortly after. _

_I understand that your position as Princess entails a great many tasking jobs, and as I do not want you to feel obligated, please feel free to reply whenever the time is right for you. _

_Always your humble servant,_

_Twilight Sparkle_

* * *

_My dearest Twilight,_

_You really need to stop taking these correspondences so seriously. You are my personal pupil, and furthermore you are like a daughter to me. As such, I take personal pride in feeling obligated to reply to you as swiftly as I can. _

_This news of your night troubles worries me; when I am done writing I shall bring this to my sister, perhaps she can shed a brighter light on the situation. _

_What worries me more is this notion of a subliminal message. Such things are not to be taken lightly, as they can have great meaning. I will ask that you come to Canterlot whenever your schedule allows it, so that my sister and I may investigate further. _

_Your Loving Teacher,_

_Princess Celestia_

_P.S.: This does not mean come tonight._

* * *

_Dear Princess Celestia, _

_Thank you. If it behooves you, I will leave on the morning train._

_On a more personal matter, how are my brother and Cadence doing?_

_Your Faithful Student,_

_Twilight Sparkle_

* * *

_Dear Twilight,_

_I will await your arrival._

_The newlyweds have been adjusting to their life well. Shining Armor has been avoiding his new title as Prince, but he wears the title well. It is certainly a relief to have another prince around who isn't such a braggart. Perhaps maybe your brother may yet change him, although I sincerely doubt it. _

_It has been a long time since we've sent this many letters in such a short period of time. I miss that, my little pony._

_Your Loving Teacher,_

_Princess Celestia_

* * *

Twilight put the letter down, a melancholy smile adorning her face as she read the last few lines. It had been awhile since she and the Princess had just talked. Even longer still, as the letters sent within the last hour really amounted to only a fraction of a conversation.

She turned to the clear orange bottle sitting on the table, right next to it a glass of water. With a glance at the clock on the wall, Twilight opened twisted off the cap and poured out a white pill, popping it into her mouth and washing it down with the glass of water. Finishing off the glass, she turned to look at the darkening sky outside.

Tomorrow she would leave for Canterlot, where she might finally receive the answers she longed for. _But first_, she thought, glaring at the mess of streamers, confetti, and glitter scattered over the floor, _I need to clean up_. Suppressing a yawn, Twilight called out to Spike, and grabbed a broom for herself.

Tomorrow, she would receive her answers.


	3. The Eyes in the Abyss

CHAPTER III

THE EYES IN THE ABYSS

"_I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever..."_

The train to Canterlot was longer than Twilight remembered, and she was gracious to herself for thinking to bring a book to pass the time. While other passengers reclined on the soft benches, some with the window open and some without, and while children pressed theirs faces against the windows in awe of the passing scenery, Twilight settled herself down and propped open a book.

The name of the book was _Daring Do and the Most Dangerous Game_. A departure from the more action-oriented style of the series, _The Most Dangerous Game _instead focused on a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse between the main character, Daring Do, and her hunter, the insane Bois d'Arc. Twilight herself had already read the novel, but she rather enjoyed the departure from the norm; Rainbow had forgotten the book on Twilight's counter a few days ago, and she decided it would make for a relaxing pastime while awaiting her arrival to Canterlot.

_Daring pulled herself onto the expanse of sand, away from the water's reach. It had been a long time since she was forced to undergo that much exercise, and after an hour of constant swimming she felt physically lethargic. Despite this hinderance, she pushed herself up and tried to shake out as much water as she could, but in vain. Her coat, now freshly layered with sand, clung to her in matted strands, and her vest was almost as heavy as she was. _

_She pulled off her vest and cast it aside, opting to deal with the sand later. Daring stretched out her wings, the only appendages that were not sore, and tried to wring out the water weighing them down. To her displeasure her wings were still soaked, and the thought of flying back to the yacht was gone. Not that it was much of an idea to begin with; the yacht was by now too far away to catch by air, one of the reasons why she needed the yacht in the first place. _

_Now fully bare, Daring tried once again to shake as much water and sand out of her coat as she could. She walked over to where her vest lay, beat most of the sand out of it, and slipped it back on. She looked back out at the ocean, and her gaze fell on her pith helmet being slapped against the rocks by the waves. After retrieving her hat and placing it back on her head, she turned away from the ocean and turned her attention to the island she had come across._

_It was not recognizable from any maps she had read during her travel. It was night however, and while she possessed the pegasi's eagle-keen eyesight, she was still tired. She may not know where she was, but that would have to wait until the dawn light came. For now, she needed rest. On the edge of the beach grew a forest, and with the last of her strength Daring pulled herself onto a particularly strong tree limb, using a length of soggy rope to anchor herself. _

"_G'd night, world," she said, pushing her helmet over her eyes. That night, amongst the cacophony of frogs croaking, crickets chirping, and all other sounds of the night, came a new sound that the inhabitants of this wretched island were all too familiar with, and yet still gave them cause to be wary: A pony in unknown territory, noisily awaiting the dawn._

The car was thrown into darkness as it entered one of the tunnels, alerting Twilight to their proximity to her destination. To further prove her right, a whine sounded across the speaker system.

"_We'll be arriving in Canterlot Station in a few moments, folks; Canterlot Station in a few moments_."

She closed the book, stowing it back into her saddlebag as she awaited the stop. Likewise, other parents who had stayed awake prompted their sleeping fillies and colts to wake up from their naps, or in some cases vice versa. Several times the train ran through recesses of both dark and light as it wound its way up the mountain, eventually ending in a long stretch of dawn light as it ran through to the Canterlot station.

The conductor pulled on the horn twice, signalling the station of his arrival, and a few seconds later the brakes hissed, and the train screeched to halt.

"_And there we have it, folks: Canterlot Station. Please collect all your belongings and make your way to the exit in an orderly fashion."_

Whether in complete disregard for the heedings of the conductor, or because the ponies were merely oblivious, the conduct of those disembarking the train was very much lacking in the "orderly fashion" asked of them. In the midst of this hustle-and-bustle Twilight wrapped her belongings in her magical aura, other ponies drawn to its glow like a ship to a lighthouse as she carried it over the heads of everypony else.

Once she was far enough away from the crowds, she strapped her saddlebags around her waist. She watched the crowd slowly dwindle away from the train, forced to go through through such trivial lengths to escape the conglomeration of their fellow beings. What was the nature of ponies, that their sanity was dependant upon social interaction, and yet they despised the very same thing?

Twilight, when she was little, was never one for such frivolous things as social interaction. She would rather spend time with her books; novels were predictable. They all followed some predestined cliche that guided the actions of those involved. The equine psyche, on the other hoof, was confusing and chaotic. She could not fathom why ponies thrived with such variables. Who would willingly subject themselves to such an unpredictable lifestyle? Then she moved to Ponyville, and she found that there was an inexplicable joy in having one's world turned upside-down.

An old wooden drawbridge served as the only entrance into Canterlot proper for those tied to the ground. Pegasi had the freedom to enter the capital from any direction they wished, but that was now once upon a time. After the recent invasion of Canterlot by a hive of changelings, severe measures had been taken to avoid such a weakness being exploited again.

Canterlot proper appeared as a garden of towering ivory spires, their violet and gold petals shining brilliantly in the dawn light. Vines of gold filigree wound their way around the towers, adding a flair of regal color. The beauty of it all was wasted on Twilight, however. While she certainly had an appreciation for the craftmareship of her old home, the aesthetics of such were lost on her. Certainly she could appreciate the allure of Canterlot's towers against the clear, blue sky, but she had no feel for the artistic intricacies that made it up. That was more Rarity's style.

The crowds of ponies dwindled the nearer she came to the royal palace. Here there was only the stigmatized wealthy, the only kind of pony the nobility deemed worthy to live this close to the palace. This "nobility" was except of the princesses, to be certain; they had no qualms with the worse off, and much to the nobles chagrin welcomed the middle class with open hooves. Unfortunately, the nobles carried enough weight to keep the "uncultured" off their doorsteps.

Twilight had never been openly shunned by the nobles, nor did they have much of a reason to. Her family, while not truly wealthy, was still of high standing. Her brother, Shining Armor, was now Captain of the Royal Guard, and Twilight herself was Princess Celestia's protege. Most of the nobility knew her name, but most only knew her by name alone. The only ponies who really knew her as she grew up were her family (which did not count, in her opinion); her foalsitter, Cadence; and Soft Serve, one of the kitchen workers who would give her free ice cream. And the Princess herself, but that was without say.

Twilight hissed as a sharp flame ignited in her breast, pressing a hoof lightly to the area. She leaned against the closest wall, breathing short, soft breaths until the pain subsided. Her horn flashed, and the orange bottle containing her pills floated in front of her. She unscrewed the cap and stared at the contents, then brought her focus to the sky above. The sun just barely crested the lower buildings. There was still an hour and a half left. Twilight winced as her breast threatened to flare up again. She glared at the pills, as if they were the cause of her pain. They might as well have been; their effects seemed to wear off faster every time.

Twilight glanced guiltily between the small, white pills and the slowly rising sun. What was an hour? A mere fraction of a day. An hour was how long her train ride lasted. An hour could easily be missed, lost in the moment; but, an hour could just as easily last for an eternity.

She turned the bottle, scanning the label for the list of side-effects. She found the list written in miniscule print on a red label.

"May Cause Drowsiness And Dizziness," she read to herself. "Alcohol May Intensify This Effect. Use Care When Flying Or Casting Magic."

She read the label again before checking the time. Barely a minute had passed. There was nothing unusual or abnormal amongst the side-effects, and nothing she had not experienced copious amounts of during (and the day after) her late-night study sessions. Twilight stared hard into the bottle of white pills, her brow furrowed in thought. What was an hour?

A sharp pang in her chest decided that for her. An hour was torture. Lavender magic wrapped around one of the pills and slowly lifted it into the mare's anxious mouth. Squeezing her eyes shut, she dry swallowed the oxycodone pill. Her whole body shuddered as she felt the pill slide down her esophagus. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and an eternity later Twilight felt a blissful clarity hit her. It rolled through her body, washing away the pain––what was pain? Pain was a hinderance! Finally, Twilight could think clearly once again!

She turned to look at the grand, blue sky, it's cloudless nature a sight to behold. Turning her attention to Canterlot towers, she felt like she was gazing upon them with new eyes. She could understand Rarity's infatuation; the intricate, esoteric details were a marvelous feat that only the masters of architecture could accomplish.

Twilight closed her eyes and smiled contently. With her mind cleared of her troubles, there was no doubt that, matched together with the wisdom of the princesses, the three of them could decipher these erratic dreams. Twilight marched toward the palace, a spring in her step brought about by a newfound peace that soon she was to be released from the nightmares wearing on her mind.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves, and do a little shake!" The combined voices of Twilight and her sister-in-law echoed through the long hall, only heard by guards who long ago learned to ignore the whims of the Canterlot nobility, and Shining Armor, who long ago learned the whimsical nuances of his wife and his sister.

Princess Cadance was arguably the most alluring of the three alicorn princesses, and being the Princess of Love, it suited her well. Twilight was unsure how long Cadance had been a princess, much less an alicorn, but she had known the mare since she was a foal. When Celestia was too busy to properly watch Twilight, she would call for her niece to care for the unicorn filly, and they had gotten along famously, the rhyme they recited a memory of their time spent together.

"It's great to see you, Twilight," said Cadance, wrapping her sister-in-law in a familial, pink embrace. Twilight had to admit it was certainly preferable to Pinkie Pie's embraces, which usually involved squeezing the breath from her victims. "I didn't expect you in the palace this morning!"

Twilight moved to return the gesture, but flinched when she agitated her ribs. As quick as he could, Shining Armor was by her side, propping her up.

"Twily, what did you do?" he breathed as he began to examine where she had reflexively placed a hoof. Twilight wrestled herself out of her brother's grasp.

"I'm fine, Shining," she assured him.

"Like hay you are! I know a broken rib when I see one," he replied, pointing a white hoof at the general area of her wound. Cadance covered her mouth with a hoof, and her horn sparked with blue magic as she moved toward Twilight.

"Here, I know some healing magic that will––" Twilight raised a hoof, gesturing for her to stop.

"The doctor already used as much magic as he was willing to. He said to just let it heal properly from now on," she explained. Both Cadance and Shining look unassuaged by her explanation, but they no longer tried to help her. Shining did give her a curious look when he asked,

"How long ago did you break your rib?"

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "Um... a week ago?"

"A week ago?" he spluttered. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Twilight inwardly winced. "I'm sorry, it's just... I've had a lot on my mind this past week."

"What do you mean, Twilight?" asked Cadance as she trotted up beside the unicorn.

"Well, it's mainly why I'm here."

Cadance cocked her head. "Why _are _you here? Now, don't get me wrong––I love any excuse to spend time with my favorite sister-in-law," she gave Twilight a warm smile. "But you look more like you're on business than a vacation."

"Well, I'd rather not have to explain it twice, so if it's alright with the Princess, I suppose you can sit in," Twilight said, looking between the two of them.

"Celestia? Well, right now me and Shining are headed to breakfast, and I'm sure that's where the princesses are now."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Shining Armor, already making his way down the hall. "I want to find out why my little sister is walking around with a broken rib!"

The walk to the great hall was short, and they found the hall to be mostly vacant, but for a few stragglers and the royal alicorns. Three miniature thrones were the centerpiece of a magnificent table seated upon a dais at the opposite end of the room. Seated on two of the three were Celestia and Luna, the third throne reserved for Cadance.

Celestia beamed at the three when they entered the great hall, whereas Luna lifted her head off her hooves and grunted her acknowledgement of their existence. Twilight, Shining and Cadance made their way to the grand table, passing a few of the servants who were finishing their meals. Cadance took her place next to Celestia, and Shining Armor sat in the seat beside his wife. There was a flash of yellow light as Celestia conjured a chair for Twilight across from them.

Almost as soon as they had taken their seats, a pale yellow mare whose golden mane was hidden underneath a white toque appeared.

"And what would you like today––Twilight!" she paused, regarding the unicorn with elated surprise. "I haven't seen you in the palace in years! How are you doing?"

Twilight smiled as she recognized the mare. "I'm doing great, Honeycrisp! I see you're still the chef here?"

"Of course! I told you I'm never going to retire! But, enough about me; what would you like for breakfast?" she said, turning back to the table at large.

"Whatever you bring me's fine," said Twilight.

"Alright; Princess Cadance?"

"I'll take a palmier, please."

"Okay; Prince Armor, the usual?"

Shining nodded in confirmation. "The usual."

"Uh-huh. And what would all of you like to drink?" She turned to Twilight with a mischievous smile. "Hot chocolate for you, or are you too grown up for that now?"

"No, hot chocolate sounds perfect," said Twilight. Honeycrisp flashed her a smile before moving on to Cadance.

"And for you, Princess Cadance?"

"Some coffee, please." The alicorn glanced at Luna, who was cradling her head in her hooves. "And perhaps a refill for Luna, if you wouldn't mind."

"I do not require anymore coffee!" barked the dark blue alicorn.

"Yes you do!" snapped Cadance without missing a beat. Celestia smiled, amused, and raised a hoof to prematurely halt any fights between the two.

"Alright!" breathed Honeycrisp. She forced the tips of her lips to curl into a smile, but the facsimile was punctured by the fear still prevalent in her eyes. "So... hot chocolate for Twilight, coffee for Princess Cadance, and a, um... refill for Princess Luna," she whispered, eyeing the Princess of the Night with barely-hidden trepidation. She let slip a sigh of relief when the Princess merely acknowledged the request with a wave of her hoof. "Okay! Anything for you, Prince Armor?"

"A double shot of espresso."

"And would you like a refill on your tea, Princess Celestia?"

The tallest of the alicorns shook her head, "No, thank you, Honeycrisp."

"As you wish, your majesty." With that, the Royal Palace's chef disappeared, presumably to her kitchens in order to prepare the newcomers' meal. Not long after, she returned, three coffee cups and a pewter mug balanced upon a silver platter that rested between her ears. She stopped at the end of the table, bowing her head slightly. Cadance, Shining, and Twilight each grabbed their own beverage, a dark blue aura carrying the extra cup of coffee over to Luna, who begrudgingly took a sip. Honeycrisp assured them that their meals would be served as soon as possible, and once again disappeared.

"While we await your breakfast, I believe it to behoove us if we hurry on with these proceedings," droned Luna. "The sooner this is over, the sooner I can return to my sleep."

Cadance rolled her eyes while Shining shook his head, but Celestia kept her smirk. "Luna, we are alicorns; we don't need sleep," she said calmly, as if this were a breakfast normality, which, if the expressions of Cadance and Shining were anything to go by, it most likely was.

"You may not, dear sister, but I enjoy it!" Luna said, flicking her mane dramatically.

"I have to agree with Princess Luna," said Shining Armor as he put a hoof on the table, a hint of tension creeping into his voice. "I would very much like to learn what my sister has been up to that broke her rib." Celestia snapped her head toward Twilight, worry reflected in her eyes at Shining's words.

"And," he continued, turning to face the Princess of the Sun. "_Why _wasn't I informed of it?"

"Sit down," said Celestia softly, yet her tone spoke volumes. Only after he complied did she continue. "You were not informed of the circumstances because Luna and I only learned of them last night."

"Why didn't you come to us and tell us last night? She's my _sister_!" begged Shining Armor, pointing a hoof at the aforementioned unicorn. Cadance put a hoof on her husband's shoulder. He sighed and relaxed, staring intently at his espresso. "My apologies, your majesty."

Celestia gave him an understanding smile. "It's quite alright. I had thought of that, and I attempted to. However, last night the two of you seemed..." Celestia searched for her word, before flashing the stallion a mischievous grin. "Busy."

Shining Armor sunk into his chair, he and Cadance blushing furiously and avoiding anypony else's gaze. Celestia allowed herself a chuckle on their behalf, and turned back to Twilight, the worry returning to her eyes as she regarded the unicorn.

"I don't recall you mentioning a broken rib in your letters to me, Twilight." Her tone was not accusatory, yet Twilight could not help but feel at fault. She started to apologize, but Celestia held up a hoof. "It doesn't matter. How did you break your rib?"

"Well, in Applejack's defense, she didn't mean to. It was while she was giving me CPR." Everypony but Luna sat up straight, their full attention on Twilight. Twilight returned each of their gazes, an awkward, nervous smile plastered on her face.

"And why did Applejack need to give you CPR, Twilight?"

"Um, excuse me," said Luna, holding up her hoof. "Would somepony explain to me what this... CPR is?"

"It stands for Cardio––" started Celestia, but she was cut off my Twilight.

"––Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. It is a procedure used to preserve brain function by manually maintaining blood circulation and ventilation, which provides oxygenated blood to the brain."

"Hm. Sounds similar to the Silver Method," said Luna.

"Well, Dr. H. R. Silver _was _the pony to first describe a method of resuscitation. However, the Silver Method is a little... outdated."

"Yes, I would assume so. Back then, we had to hold the hooves of a pony above their head, and––" Luna and Twilight halted their discussion when they noticed the looks of the other three occupants. "Perhaps now is not the time."

"No, I daresay it isn't," confirmed Celestia. "Now, once again, why did you need––"

"Breakfast is served, your majesties!" The cheerful voice of Honeycrisp cut her off, as said mare waltzed up the dais with another platter balanced on her back. She first came up to Twilight, and tipped a plate with a croissant in front of the unicorn.

"Thank you, Honeycrisp," said Twilight as she inhaled the scent wafting from her meal. "It smells delicious!"

"Aw, thank you Twilight!" she cooed. Honey next visited Shining Armor, sliding a plate of steaming scrambled eggs and sizzling hay bacon. "The usual for you, Prince Armor."

"Thanks, Honey," he said, cutting up his eggs with a fork. "–Crisp!" he blurted when he noticed the glare from his wife. "Honeycrisp!" Twilight giggled as Cadance shook her head, Celestia wearing her trademark amused smile.

"And here you go, Princess Cadance," said Honeycrisp, giving her a plate with a heart-shaped pastry.

"Thank you, Honeycrisp."

The chef once again vanish, and Celestia found herself proving her status as the personification of patience. She slowly sipped on the rest of her tea, watching as Twilight dunked her croissant in her hot chocolate and Shining tore into his eggs with a hungry glint in his eye. Cadance gave her husband a disapproving glance as she ate her palmier with more refinement, but Celestia could see the facade betrayed in the young alicorn's eyes.

She allowed her guests a few moments to appease their appetite, before commanding attention with a simple, elegant cough. The three of them looked at her expectantly, while Luna merely shifted her head in order to better see her sister.

"Now that you've all eaten, I would very much like to learn why Twilight here was in need of CPR." With her words, all eyes turned to the lavender unicorn. Twilight swallowed the rest of her croissant before answering.

"Well, that relates to what I came here today to speak to you about."

Cadance raised her hoof. "Um, I, still, am unsure of what is going on, and this mention of CPR is only worrying me more, not to mention how much it must be worrying Shiny." Shining did not respond, but his eyes were all the confirmation she needed.

Celestia turned to her pupil. "Well, Twilight, would you care to explain?"

"As you wish, you majesty." Twilight polished off her croissant, and took a sip of hot chocolate before continuing. "Well, about a week ago I had a night terror––"

"A night terror?" blurted Shining Armor. "You never get night terrors! Hay, I don't think you've ever had a night_mare_!"

Twilight nodded in agreement. "That's why at first I thought nothing of it––perhaps it was just something bad I ate. Either way, it scared my friends, and Applejack offered to let me sleep over at her house that night." Twilight paused as she thought best how to word what happened next. Even she was a little confused, having not been awake during it, and Applejack's descriptiveness left much to be desired.

"Applejack, she was the... orange mare, right?" asked Cadance. "The one who cooked those delicious bite-sized apple fritters?"

Twilight nodded. "Applejack's family owns _Sweet Apple Acres_, and she and her grandmother cook most of their meals."

"Well, she certainly became a wonderful cook."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "Well, I wasn't going to pass up a sleepover with one of my friends, so I went over that afternoon. Everything was fine, until I woke up the next morning in pain, Applejack crying over me." Twilight shuddered, her hoof reflexively going over her wound.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" asked Cadance, prematurely rising out of her seat. "I know some anesthesia spells, if you're in pain."

Twilight held up a hoof, smiling soberly at her sister-in-law. "Thank you, but no." The mare took another sip of her beverage, trying her hardest not to visibly wince. "The doctor doesn't want me to use any magic during the healing process, and he gave me some painkillers to deal with the... well, pain."

"I'm not sure I understand why you wouldn't want to use magic healing a broken rib," questioned Shining Armor. "Its just, isn't that the point of magic, to protect ourselves?"

Luna, who had long ago abandoned her facade, answered. "Our bodies were designed to heal themselves, given time and care. Certainly magic can, and should, be used to catalyst that process, or give the body the time it needs to finish. But to interfere with the process could potentially harm the body instead, and in some rare cases even destroy the process entirely."

"Yes," Twilight agreed. "Using healing magic can be even more dangerous than drugging the body. That's why most doctors are earth ponies and pegasi, whilst the nurses tend to be unicorns."

"I assume that Applejack performed CPR on you because of your night terror?" asked Celestia, silently cursing herself for her lack of patience. She comforted herself by knowing that it was not for a lack of concern toward her pupil, rather it being the cause.

"Yes; Applejack awoke to find me not breathing, and resorted to CPR. Certainly it wasn't the appropriate response, but I'm nonetheless grateful towards her for it," answered Twilight.

Luna turned to her sister. "Are sleep terrors capable of effecting the respiratory system?"

"Well," replied Celestia, staring at her tea dregs as her brow furrowed. "They usually tend to cause rapid breathing, but I've never heard a case where the victim stopped breathing entirely."

"Which is one of the reasons why I think these aren't night terrors," said Twilight, returning the attention of the three princesses and her brother to herself. "Its not a big reason, after all symptoms can very dramatically sometimes, but its not the only reason." She looked into the eyes of each pony present, each one of them silently telling her to continue. "The other is what I mailed you about, Princess."

"The subliminal messages," clarified Celestia. Twilight 'mmhmm'ed. "You were vague on just what messages you were receiving? Could you clarify?"

Twilight sipped on her hot chocolate, which was much less 'hot chocolate' and more 'chocolate milk' by now. She thought back to the previous day, and her conversation with Time Turner. He had expressed concern that many would see her questions as anarchy, but he had doubted (and even assured her) that the princesses would see it as such. Princess Celestia had indeed told her once upon a time that she would hear any and all questions Twilight had, regardless of the subject.

But Luna... Princess Luna was a thousand years behind the world. Would her more ancient-thinking mind tolerate Twilight for her curiosity, or condemn her? Both cases seemed equally likely in the mind of Twilight Sparkle, despite that she had made friends with the Princess of the Night but a few months ago.

"Dread," started Twilight. She would wait, gage their reactions and find an appropriate time to bring it up. "Every night leaves me wakening with a feeling of dread."

"That is... common with night terrors," said Luna, fixing Twilight with a curious look. She knew the unicorn was hiding something. Stalling.

"Yes, but I wasn't the only one to feel that way."

"Wait, you mean more ponies have been having nightmares?"

"No," corrected Twilight. "My friend, Pinkie Pie, well..." Twilight thought best at how to explain the 'Pinkie Sense'. "Well, in her own words: She 'gets different, little, niggling feelings' that predict future events."

Luna put a hoof to her chin. "So... she has a precognitive extrasensory perception?" When Twilight nodded Luna grinned. "Fascinating! I've only met one other pony who could do that, and I'm sorry to say she's long dead. What did she perceive?"

"Same as me; dread. Except without all the other symptoms."

"So, it is apparent that there is a supernatural cause. I understand now why you assumed an outside force," the younger princess concluded.

Twilight's face scrunched up. "Wait, I never said I believed that somepony was doing this to me!"

"Well, of course you did," said Luna matter-of-factly. "Your exact words were: 'Subliminal messages'. Now, if you didn't have an inkling of an outside force, then you would have said 'subliminal ideas', or 'subliminal concept', or some variation thereof. Messages are sent from one pony to another, and require a source of origin." Luna then silently sipped her coffee, hiding the smirk forming at Twilight's flabbergasted expression.

"Well, dear sister, if we're going to be measuring our brains, I would like to point out that Twilight did indeed say 'subliminal messages'; as in plural. What else has been on your mind?" questioned Celestia, meanwhile fixing Twilight with a knowing look and a warm smile.

The mare calmed herself using a technique Cadance had shown her: slow breath in, slow breath out. However the princesses reacted, Time Turner was right; if she could not confide in her own mentor/surrogate mother, then who could she?

"Well, I can't seem to find any other way to say this, so... you. You've been on my mind."

"Wait, are you saying that the other '_subliminal message_' is my sister?" asked Luna, an inquisitive brow raised.

"I mean, I'm certainly flattered... but..._well_," flustered Celestia, as Cadance giggled.

"NO!" Twilight hurriedly responded, her face burning a deep red as she clamped her hooves over her mouth. "I didn't mean _just _Celestia!"

Cadance could no longer contain her laughter behind a hoof as Luna's cheeks tinged a faint pink. "Oh..." Luna whispered, and Twilight's eyes widened.

"NO!" She blurted. "I meant _alicorns_! Alicorns in general!" There was a thud somewhere between Shining's chair and Celestia's throne as Cadance fell out of her seat.

"Whew," she gasped, as Shining helped her up. "Oh, it feels good to laugh!" She wiped a tear from her eye as the object of her humor steamed in her seat.

Celestia allowed herself a chuckle as well, before resigning to be the voice of reason. "If we're done with our distraction, might I suggest we return to the matter at hoof?"

"Yes, please!" pleaded a furiously blushing Twilight.

Cadance fanned herself with her hoof, simultaneously downing some more of her beverage. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but it was just too perfect!" Twilight refused to dignify her sister-in-law with a response, vocal or physical. The alicorn rolled her hoof, gesturing to the lavender mare. "Please continue; you mentioned alicorns in your dreams?"

"Yes," Celestia added, bringing her teacup to her lips and tilting it slightly. When the presence of warm liquid was absent from her lips, she glared down at the cup, realizing that it was empty. There was a soft _clink_ as she returned the cup to its tray. "What do you mean, alicorns are a part of your 'subliminal messages'?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, myself," Twilight answered, shrugging her shoulders for emphasis. "All that I know is that the only part of the night terrors that stick with me are the sense of dread and... alicorns."

"Do you believe that... an alicorn is the source?" tentatively asked Luna. Twilight rapidly shook her head.

"No, not at all! You three are the only alicorns in existence, and I trust all of you." Twilight looked each of the princesses in the eye. "I couldn't fathom any of you trying to hurt me." Out of the three, Cadance was the only alicorn to hold her gaze for any length of time.

"What about these dreams make you think about us?" asked Celestia, who was taking a sip of her sister's coffee in place of her tea. She grimaced horribly when the bitterness hit her.

"I'm... not sure," admitted Twilight. "Nothing, if I'm to be honest. Not even the image of an alicorn appears in my mind, just the idea of one. It's... not easy to explain. And it's not only when I have a nightmare, but also when I try thinking about them, trying to remember them."

The regal, pale alicorn relaxed into her throne, rubbing her chin in thought as she regarded the mare in front of her. A certain kind of quiet descended upon the great hall. It was not tense, but yet it was neither tranquil. Some sort of harmonic balance between the two, regaling its occupants in equal parts calm and cautious. That was, until Celestia turned to her left.

"Shining Armor, you have been persistently silent; what are your thoughts on the matter?"

The Captain of the Royal Guard looked surprised to have been called on, but recovered quickly and answered, "To be honest, your majesty, this has all kinda gone over my head. I only want what's best for my little sister," he said, smiling at Twilight, who returned it with a toothy grin.

"You would make a good politician," mused Celestia, eliciting a giggle from Luna.

Shining looked at her, bemused. "I'm... not sure what you mean by that, your majesty."

Celestia merely shook her head, a smile creasing her lips. "Nevermind. Luna."

The dark blue alicorn shifted. "Yes, dear sister?"

"How much of your energy has returned to you?"

"I assume you are inquiring if I have regained my ability to dreamwalk?"

"I see we are of the same mind." Celestia once again grabbed Luna's coffee, intent on sipping the revoltingly bitter drink as she had before, regardless of taste. Luna flicked her sister's horn, causing Celestia to yelp inelegantly. The coffee cup was curtly released from her golden grasp, and caught by a cobalt aura.

"_My_ coffee," quipped the younger princess, taking her own sip of it before setting it down before her. "While not yet ideally, I have regained most of that particular ability. Enough to do as you are about to ask of me, that is, should we indeed be of the same mind."

"Um, if I may," Twilight raised her hoof, not unlike a filly in a schoolhouse, and smiled sheepishly as all eyes turned to her. "I feel like I missed a step here."

Cadance and Shining nodded. "And I as well."

"Well, Twilight," said Celestia. "I'm going to request that you stay here for the night. My sister has the power to walk among the dreams of ponies, and tonight I want her to investigate these recurring night terrors of yours, hopefully finding and quite possibly eliminating the source."

"Actually," spoke up Luna. "It is probable that I can enter her mind now, examine her memories, and see if I can unlock anything that may be of help." She raised up a hoof, looking straight at Twilight. "Now, I won't be able to directly examine your dreams, seeing as you are awake, but perhaps I can find something of use, or at the very least discover another piece of this puzzle."

Celestia gazed at Twilight, giving her protege a motherly smile. To Twilight, it appeared as the smile one gives their child when said foal was bedridden in the hospital. Or a friend. She had seen that smile numerous times shadowing the faces of her dearest friends as the visited her. "Are you okay with this, Twilight?" the princess asked.

"Mhm!" Twilight answered. "I welcome anything that you think might help! If it means getting rid of these nightmares, then I'm for it."

"Very well." Luna rose out of her throne, striding across the dais and down its few steps. She continued across the great hall, until an area void of furniture. Cobalt magic lifted several nearby tables and their accompanying stools, stacking them on each other so as to clear a gap a few meters wide around her. Satisfied, she turned back to the waiting mare.

"Twilight Sparkle, if you would be so kind as to join me down here?"

"Of course, Princess Luna!" Twilight hastily followed the alicorn's path towards the newly made clearing. "But, if I may, your highness, why the, um..." Twilight glanced around at the stacked benches apprehensively.

"It has been a very long time since I last dream walked, longer still since I have used this particular method," Luna explained. "This type of magic is highly invasive, and there is a chance your mind will reject me swimming through it. Should this happen, you will reflexively lash out, hence why I have cleared out an area for me to work."

"I... I won't hurt anypony, will I?" Twilight asked tentatively.

Luna shook her head. "No. Should anything happen, I shall contain it."

Twilight did not feel entirely assured by the princess's choice of words, but she was confident that whatever was to happen would be worthwhile, as long as the mystery behind these night terrors was solved. Come what may, as the common pony said.

"Are you ready, Twilight?"

The unicorn took in a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever was to happen. She held the air in for a moment, then released it. For a week she had been tormented by the unknown, and the prospect of being able to return to her less-than-normal life was both equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

"I am ready, your highness," Twilight answered.

"Very well." Luna motioned for Twilight to lower her horn, and the mare complied. As the alicorn approached, Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, anxiously anticipating what was to come. She felt the princess's horn rub against her own, flinching slightly at the sensitivity.

"Please stay still," Luna chided. Twilight felt her cheeks flush at being reprimanded in front of an audience, but consigned herself to follow the simple order. The two of them could hear the three still seated at the royal's table wait with a bated breath; the silence was deafening.

A hum of magic buzzed, and Twilight felt the spell invade her horn, consuming it. It was a most uncomfortable feel, and she felt every instinct pushing her to counter. She beat down the impulse, attempting to assuage it by repeating to herself that it was necessary. Luna's spell reached through her horn, and into her mind. Twilight found it difficult to resist the urge to squirm; it felt like Luna had stuck her tongue into Twilight's brain, and was roving around inside. The urge became nigh unbearable as time went on, the tongue of magic extending deeper and deeper into her mind, exploring in a way that Twilight felt was uncomfortably intimate.

"I seemed to have found some sort of... door," Luna said. "Did you put this here?"

"No," Twilight answered, her voice strained. She could picture the very door Luna spoke of, wrought with a mysterious, dark material. There was no semblance of a handle, nor any other means of opening it. A cobalt mist explored the black gate, searching in vain for a opening. A distressing tingle ran through Twilight's spine, and she almost reflexively arched her back. It was all she could do to merely squeeze her eyes harder.

"I'm afraid I must forcibly open this door, if we wish to pursue this any further. Do you give me permission?"

Twilight's first instinct was to ask whether or not it would be painful. Did it really matter? How far had she gone before to save her friends, to save Equestria? She had charged head-first at a fully grown hydra, lulled to sleep an ursa minor and levitated it away from Ponyville with bare magic, and fought side-by-side with her five friends against an entire legion of invading changelings. If she were to be honest with herself, what was some pain to be rid of these nightmares that had caused her such distress?

"Y... yes."

The dark blue magic withdrew from the dark door, scrunching itself up. There it waited, biding its time as it gathered energy. Both mares held their breath; one concentrating on her spell, the other anxious for it to happen. Then, akin to a snake, it lashed out, striking the mental door with the unadulterated power of an alicorn.

Then Twilight's world fell to black.

* * *

Once again in the void, a penetrating sense of deja vu washed over her. She had been here before, in this abyss of shadows. However, something was different. The longer she thought, the more it came back to her. Here she could dwell on the nightmares, and remember. And she remembered chanting––chanting that was absent. Gone were the voices and whispers that had plagued her, gone were the alien words which poisoned her. Gone was the mist clouding her mind.

She called out, hoping that Luna had penetrated her dreams, but the darkness swallowed her words. The whispers quiet and her own voice restrained, the silence was maddening. Then, something new happened: She caught sight of movement in the shadows. At first she vainly hoped that Luna had indeed heard her silent call, and had come to rescue her. She ran toward the image, but soon she discerned that the pony was not the Princess of the Night.

She was accurate in assuming the entity was an alicorn, but unlike either of the alicorns she knew, his silhouette was masculine. She was also alarmed to discover that this was not the only unique attribute of the anonymous alicorn, as she could distinguish metallic wings and horn shimmering with a malicious glint in the darkness. Brilliant blue orbs glowed brightly from where Twilight assumed was his face, peering into Twilight's own eyes.

Those blue eyes... angered her. They made her want to tear apart the very fabric of reality, debase herself with the pleasures of the flesh, and blaspheme the innocence of youth, all with the darkest and blackest of magics! Instead of the princesses, Equestria would have a queen––not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn; treacherous as the sea; stronger than the foundations of the earth! All would love her and despair!

The more she stared into the blue eyes of the mysterious alicorn, the more she felt her soul become corrupted and twisted. Yet, should could not glance away. Truth was hidden behind those eyes, promising all the answers she could want; all it would cost was the innocent naiveté of her soul.

Then, as quickly as it had come, everything vanished, and she awoke.

* * *

Something was wrong; this much was painfully obvious to Twilight as she awoke on the hard tile. The atmosphere in the great hall had changed, from the bated breath of anxious onlookers to thick tension. Twilight pushed herself off the floor, her breast warning her to move slowly, and looked to the dais. There the three spectators stood, wearing expressions varying from irresolute doubt to apprehensive fear, and neither of these were directed at her. Concern also lapped at the edges of her own mind as she turned around, curious as to what had caught their attention.

A few feet away from the unicorn lay a dark blue mare, curled up in a fetal position. Her body shuddered and her hooves shook, and her wings twitched spontaneously. Indistinct whispering came from her, unnerving those few who could hear it.

"Princess Luna..." Twilight breathed.

"Luna?" echoed Celestia.

The mare gave no answer, and nopony in the room dared to move. They stood still in the pregnant silence that hung over them, unsure of how to react. The words of Luna echoed in her mind, and Twilight worried that perhaps she had lashed out in response to the princess's invasive magic, and Luna was wrong in her ability to contain it. Had she truly done this to the princess?

"Lulu!" Celestia charged down the stairs toward her sister, breaking the spell about them and prompting Cadance and Shining Armor to follow her. Each stopped short just a couple meters away from the fetal alicorn.

"Princess Luna, I'm so sorry!" Twilight said as she moved towards the mare. "I... I didn't mean for anything like this to happen, honest!"

Just a few inches away, Twilight could hear bits and pieces of the mare's indistinct whispering. It sounded as though she were pleading with some unseen being, whom was torturing her. Distress coated her every word, and Twilight's heart went out to the mare. She remembered lying on a bed, out of breath and scared for her life. She remembered the feel of a claw reassuring her with it's touch. Twilight looked down at the pitiable alicorn, and reached out her hoof.

"Twilight!" Celestia warned, but she was too late.

"NO!" Luna's voice resounded deafeningly throughout the great hall as she jumped to her feet, her eyes flashing a deep aquamarine. It was the last thing Twilight saw before her vision turned cobalt, and a blinding pain coursed through her like lightning.

Twilight heard her name cried out from somewhere far away. She blinked furiously, trying to see through the tears clouding her eyes. Her body lay against one of the stones pillars holding up the room, a fresh spiderweb of cracks apparent midway up. Attempting to rise caused a bout of nausea, and she resolved to lay on the cold tile. A pale blur rushed toward her, and it seemed to be panicking.

"Twily!" the blur spoke in her brother's voice, as it slowly took the form of a muscular stallion. "Are you alright? Can you stand up?"

Any sort of answer Twilight attempted came out as a pained groan. She tried to move, to twist her body into a more dignified position, but any motion was met with a swift and paralyzing fire from just above her midriff.

"Cadance! I think she damaged that rib," Shining said to the pink figure that cantered beside him. The mare's horn, aimed at the immobilized unicorn, flashed a vibrant bright blue.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," was the only thing she said before the mare was bathed in alicorn's magic. Nigh instantaneously the pain vanished, leaving Twilight feeling naught but numb. She tried to move, but a pink hoof pushed her back down.

"Not yet," was the only explanation given, as Cadance laid her horn over Twilight's breast. An extension of her magic slipped beneath the mare's skin and fur, and for a moment she suffered an extremely uncomfortable and nauseating feeling of her insides squirming before Cadance withdrew her horn.

"Ugh, what just happened?" Twilight groaned.

Before she could receive an answer from either pony standing beside her, several guards rushed in, spears in hoof as their eyes simultaneously trained onto the fallen mare and the cracked column above her. One of them stepped forward.

"Your highness, we heard a commotion. Is everything well?" he said, addressing Celestia. The guard who spoke eyed the lunar princess, prompting her sister to place a wing around her. Luna seemed to not notice, opting to stare at Twilight with an expression of fear, a look that did not suit the more sober royal sister.

"Everything is under control, Adamant Shield," Celestia answered. "You may return to your posts." Her gaze followed the stallions as they left the great hall, each sharing looks of uncertainty as they followed through with their supreme leader's order. She sighed internally as she watched them leave; it appeared she still had yet to thoroughly remove the dissension towards her sister.

Celestia lightly shook her.

"Luna, are you okay?"

"I... will be fine." The dark blue alicorn broke away from her sister's hold, trotting toward one of few whom she considered a friend. "I am so sorry, Twilight. I did not mean to attack you, let alone cause you harm. I fear I was not myself."

The mare adjusted herself as to better look Luna in the eyes. There was a shadow shrouding the alicorn's aqua irises, masking their potential beauty. Twilight did her best to smile, but being unable to feel her own body, there was a chance she was actually frowning.

"It's alright, Princess Luna, it wasn't your fault," she said.

"If only that were true..." Nopony was certain whether Luna intended for them to hear those words, and nopony acted upon them. "Tia, I would seek private counsel with you, if you wouldn't mind," she said, turning back to her sister.

Celestia tilted her head, furrowing her brow. "Certainly, little sister," she answered, before glancing at the fallen mare and the two standing vigil over her. "Why don't you head down to my chamber? I'll meet you there."

Luna nodded, throwing another apologetic look towards Twilight before walking out of the great hall. Celestia watched her sister leave their presence, waiting until the small side door that led to the back halls closed behind the mare before turning her attention her to protègè.

The student gave her mentor a warm smile, but the smile Celestia returned did not reach her eyes.

Twilight's face flushed as she glanced awkwardly at her body. "Um... would you mind helping me up?" she asked sheepishly. "I can't seem to feel my legs." The mare was lifted into the air by a field of blue and pink, righting her and standing her on her hooves. Twilight wobbled a bit as she regained her balance, a feat made difficult as she could not feel the tile beneath her. This did not go unnoticed by a particular alicorn.

"Did you use an anesthetic spell?"

Cadance shook her head. "Not exactly; it's a variant I perfected a few years ago, that severs the brain's connection to the nerves," she explained. "She still has full control of her body, just minus the pain."

Twilight's eyes lit up with a familiar spark, her face split by a bright grin. "Fascinating! You have to teach me later!"

Cadance, Celestia, and Shining Armor each shared a look between them, giggling softly much to Twilight's confusion.

"What?" she asked, glancing at each of them.

"Only you, Twilight," answered Cadance with a shake of her head. Shining and Cadance pressed their shoulders against the unicorn, gently leading her back up the dais' steps and to her seat.

"Are you certain you are alright, Twilight?" asked Celestia, after the mare had been returned to a more comfortable and less vulnerable posture. Before she answered, she reached out with her magic and brought the tankard before her to her lips. When nothing left the mug, she peered into it, then placed it back on the table, lamenting that she had already finished off her hot chocolate.

"I'm fine, Princess. Thank you."

"I'm just glad you aren't hurt. Or at least more so than you were," Celestia said, nuzzling the seated mare. She briefly eyed the door that Luna had exited through, a frown forming over her smile. "Well then, if you'll pardon me, I'll leave you with your brother and sister-in-law, whilst I go and find my own sister and lend her a much-needed ear," she said. She hesitantly trotted toward the exit, glancing back at the mare she had come to see as her daughter. The mare whose body was broken. Oh, how it pained her to see Twilight in such a state, and herself unable to act upon her own motherly whim.

"Princess Celestia, er, before you leave," called out Twilight. Celestia stopped, giving the mare her full attention. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to peruse the, er... the Restricted Annex later?" Twilight coughed. "If you wouldn't mind?"

Celestia took a brief moment to observe her pupil's chichè smile, near as wide as her face and twice as bright as the sparkle in her eyes. Certainly the mare was hiding something, that much was quite certain. The answer to what she was concealing was not as certain, but Celestia had long ago ceased worrying over Twilight's antics. Should something be on the young mare's mind, then in due time, when she was ready, she would approach her mentor––most likely with a rather thick scroll containing her notes on the subject.

"Certainly Twilight, of course you may. I'll let Papyrus know to expect you." And with that, Celestia departed from the great hall, a pleasantly warm feeling in her gut, the prospect of a report from her pupil dragging with it a welcome nostalgia. It truly had been too long.

(_/-.-\\(_)/-.-\\_)

The Hall of the Elements.

Once upon a time seemingly so long ago, it was known as the Hall of Records, or sometimes the Hall of Dancing Lights. Up and down its entire length were large stained glass window panes, each several tail-lengths in width and twice as many high. Some of them bore specific designs, picturing fantastic feats of heroes both dead and alive, and many still were yet bare, awaiting another pony to rise up, and earn their prestige. During the day, when the Sun sat high in its perch, the Hall would swim with a multitude of brilliant colors that gave it a vibrant life.

Now, however, night had fallen, and what little light would be cast by the moon was choked out by a persistent storm. The soft pitter-patter on the glass echoed in the dark, lonely hall, with naught but a single mare to hear its sorrowful tune. This mare sat beneath a particular window, one of the closest to the end of the room. The scene depicted was perhaps appropriate, given the circumstances of that morning:

A dark alicorn mare, with fierce blue eyes and a raging mane posed in a threatening rear. She was surrounded in a bright glow, originating from six mares arranged in a circle around her.

The lonesome mare sighed, humming a tune from long ago, a tune that she held dear to her heart. Her gaze turned from _Fall of Nightmare Moon_ to a nearby piece, the very first stained glass. A bright pink heart, set ablaze by an unknown source, sat as a centerpiece around another circle of six ponies, each of these mares bearing warm smiles as they sang their songs. Beneath the window, engraved on a golden plaque was written it's name: _The Fire of Friendship_.

"... Laughter and singing will see us through," the mare sang quietly to herself. "We are a circle of pony friends, a––"

"––A circle of friends, we'll be to the very end~!" A second, unexpected voice added to her own, and the mare turned to see who this newcomer was.

"We still have a few more months before Hearth's Warming Eve, your majesty," said the newcomer, who upon closer inspection was a unicorn. A familiar unicorn. "If you don't mind me saying, you do have a beautiful voice. Perhaps you should take part in the next pageant."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, your words are kind," answered Princess Luna, allowing a smile to curl the tips of her frown. "But I do not know how other ponies would take my... intervention into one of their traditions."

Twilight shook her head. "Oh, I doubt that, Princess Luna––"

"––You may call me Luna, if you wish to, Twilight. We are alone, I hope."

"Alright then, Luna." The taste of a royal's name without the proper title was awkward on Twilight's tongue. "If you remember, Nightmare Night was rather successful. I think the citizens of Ponyville enjoyed having you visit, and I do remember one particular colt asking you to come back for this year."

A flash of light illuminated the hall, followed swiftly by the sound of the sky being ripped in two.

"I am a part of Nightmare Night, to have me there was to be expected. However, Hearth's Warming Eve is about you ponies, a tribute to the founding of Equestria."

Twilight looked at the Princess, cocking her head to the side. "Were you and Princess Celestia not involved in that?" She tapped a hoof on her chin. "Now that I think about it, I don't remember either of you being mentioned in the script."

Luna did not answer immediately. Instead, she focused her gaze on the stained glass of _The Fire of Friendship_. The longer she stared, the more her brow furrowed, and her lips thinned. Finally, after a few short minutes that felt like an age in the pregnant silence, "We were, and we weren't."

Twilight raised her eyebrow.

"We were... indirectly involved," Luna amended, as if that would clear up the confusion.

"Do you mean 'we' as in the Royal 'We', or as in you and your sister?"

"Both," Luna answered ominously. Before Twilight could inquire any further, "Tia told me that you were researching in the Restricted Annex. Did you find what you were looking for?"

It was Twilight's turn to sigh. "Sadly, no."

"May I ask what it is that interested you?"

Twilight paused. She had intended to ask Princess Celestia about it, as Celestia would understand. Luna? That morning she had convinced herself to let come what may should Luna have been present, but now that she was once again faced with that decision, Twilight found that her resolve waivered.

"I see." Twilight panicked; she had been quiet too long!

"N-no! I just––History," she recovered. "I was researching Equestria's History."

"What particular section, that required restricted books?" Luna asked. "Perhaps I can remember what the scribes failed to record."

Another crack of thunder.

"Well, mostly I was interested in the founding of Equestria."

Luna hummed. "I apologize; I cannot help you there. I myself barely remember much from that time period."

"That's alright. Perhaps Princess Celestia can help me."

Luna stared hard at the six founders of Equestria, forever immortalized. "Yes. Perhaps she can."

The two mares sat side by side, listening to the arrhythmic pitter-patter of the rain grow stronger as the storm outside evolved into a torrent.

"Luna? About this morning..."

"I am sorry, Twilight. I know not what came over me." The unicorn failed to see the alicorn's eyes flick to the image of Nightmare Moon. "Believe me when I say that the last thing I intended to do was hurt a friend," Luna said, facing Twilight. While her face held stern, Twilight could see her sentiment echo in her eyes. There was something more, something buried beneath the remorse, but it mattered not. She gave the alicorn a genuine smile.

"I forgive you, Luna," she said, holding her hooves out.

Luna stepped back, blinking furiously. "I..." she stared at Twilight trepidly, who began to worry she made a wrong move in offering a hug. Luna saw the expression on Twilight's face fall, and quickly stepped into the embrace, returning it. "It has been a long time since I've heard those words. Thank you."

"Ugh, _gag_! I think I'd rather be back in my granite prison than be forced to watch this _touching_ moment," a voice echoed across the hall, sounding as if it originated from the walls themselves.

Twilight and Luna broke their hug, staring at one another with equal amounts of confusion and fear reflecting in their eyes.

"Who's there!" yelled Luna. Twilight searched out a particular window, one that depicted a creature stitched from various animals puppeteering with marionettes of living ponies.

"I'm insulted that you don't remember me, dear Lulu. It's only been a few thousand years," said the disembodied voice. Twilight held the image's malicious gaze, knowing full well what was about to happen. That did not make it easier to swallow.

"I saw the Elements of Harmony turn you to stone!" Twilight told him, then turned to Luna. "This has to be another one of his tricks."

"Au contraire, mon ami!" There was a flash of light, and several ponies dressed in vivacious ponchos and sombreros, wielding musical instruments materialized in front of the princess and the unicorn. Heralding their appearance was a loud blast from a few of their trumpets, before they began strumming out a pleasant tune.

Another flash of light, and standing before them was a creature unlike no other. His tufted snake tail flicked to the beat of the mariachi band behind him, and he flashed the mares a uni-fanged smile as he spread his mis-matched arms and declared,

"He's back!"


End file.
